Imported fuel tankers are wrongly certified
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By Chris Tindall
HUNDREDS OF imported fuel tankers are running on UK roads despite being wrongly certified under dangerous goods regulations, according to the Department for Transport (DfT).
The DfT confirmed that it has known of a possible certification issue affecting 230 tanker trailers — about 10% of the market — for more than a year, and that it is attempting to solve the problem without recalling the vehicles and disrupting fuel supplies. Instead, a DfT spokesman said it was taking the unusual step of granting authorisation for the trailers to be used on the road until their next inspection becomes due.
"We want to be proportionate about it," he said. "There have been no incidents and we want to ensure security of supply." The DfT spokesman said the affected tankers were manufactured by South African company GRW and have been
on UK roads since 2006.
The problem appears to be the quality of the welding associated with the baffles inside the tanks and came to light when the trailers underwent a bi-annual tank pressure test.
"We believe no orders for these tankers have been placed by British operators since 2012 and, while they are not banned per se, new tankers coming into service would need to demonstrate they were properly certified and complied fully with the relevant legislation," the spokesman added. GRW engineering executive
Ivan Terblanche said the circumstances prompting the investigation remained unclear, but claimed it pointed towards "major potential deficiencies in the UK national certification process and inconsistencies among the standards applied by UK-appointed inspection bodies". He said that GRW had found itself in the perfect storm, and added: "However, we believe in our product and it also appears to carry the overwhelming endorsement of our major UK customer base." The Federation of Petroleum Suppliers, which represents the
UK oil distribution industry, said it was keeping members informed of the situation. CEO Mark Askew said: "We would assume that if the DfT saw a significant risk, then the trailers concerned would have been impounded, even if there was likely to be some disruption to distribution. We are aware that some hauliers are taking preventative action by replacing these tankers in their fleet."
A spokesman for the Health and Safety Executive confirmed that it was investigating the supply of the tankers in addition to the DfT investigation.