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19th February 2009
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

As uel prices rose last summer, so did fuel thefts. We look at some of the ways available to deter thieves, from building barricades around your yard to fitting anti-siphon devices.

Words: David Harris Fuel theft has always been a major headache for hauliers. and the more expensive diesel gets, the bigger the headache becomes. This is not just because each litre of diesel taken represents a significant financial loss. but also because stealing fuel becomes more attractive to criminals, and therefore will happen more frequently.

Last summer, when fuel prices hit record levels, some hauliers were hit badly. Hardly a week went by when CM didn't report a fuel theft story, and some businesses were raided so often they even faced shutting down.

Nobody is in any doubt that fuel theft increased last year. Paul Lambotte, head of ACP° Vehicle Crime Intelligence Unit, said in October that the number of cases of commercial vehicle fuel siphoning reported to Truckpol had leapt up by 507% since August, the sort of figure that will put the fear of crime into even the calmest operator.

The thefts are numerous and follow no geographical pattern, and although they rose as the price of diesel increased, they have not reduced as the price has fallen. Just before Christmas, there were three incidents off the M25 in Chertsey.Surrey, where 650 litres of fuel were siphoned from three trucks parked in a lay-by. Surrey Police warned drivers they needed to be vigilant because they believed the thieves would move on to other places.

Counting the cost of fuel theft

In October, Lincolnshire firm JS Cook and Son, which operates 13 HG Vs, had £500-worth of diesel stolen from three different vehicles., while Plymouth-based Armoric Freight had 1,500 litres of fuel stolen in July.

In Stoke,I Whitfield & Son lost £600-worth of diesel from two trucks at its Bengry Road site in November. And partner David Whitfield points out that the loss from such crimes is often much more than just the fuel being taken. He estimates that the November thefts ended up costing the firm around £2,000 once the wages for jobs that couldn't be carried out were accounted for. Against this sort of background, it is little wonder that hauliers in 2009 are understandably concerned about how they can protect their livelihoods.

There is no shortage of security firms that want to sell their services. But protecting the fuel in your vehicles raises a few questions. For example, who are you protecting it from? Broadly speaking, the security industry divides it into two areas: external theft (professional criminals with no connection to your firm) and internal theft (those who may work for you, possibly even your drivers). The latter is a controversial area, and security specialists who have advised companies that drivers need careful policing have themselves been criticised for a suggestion that some see as insulting.

Second, do you protect the fuel tank itself, most obviously with an anti-siphoning device? Or do you protect the entire vehicle, by having increased security in your yard and making sure it is parked in secure areas when on the road basically stopping thieves from getting anywhere near the truck in the first place?

Anti-siphon devices

If your concern is that fuel is being siphoned from your tanks, an anti-siphoning device might be your best bet.

A number of companies produce these, but two of the better known are TruckProtect and TISS. Both offer devices inserted into the fuel tank that aim to minimise or eliminate the chances for siphoning. Both supply major truck-makers and own-account fleets, and both believe in the effectiveness of their own product. The world of anti-siphon device manufacture is not without controversy. TruckProtect director Russell Fowler is critical of TISS's "Impregnable" device, largely on the grounds that he says it is not impregnable.

TruckProtect has claimed that TISS has allegedly copied one of TruckProtecrs designs. TISS defends the claims it makes about its own device. Matthew Rose, marketing director of TISS,says:"If the Impregnable wasn't impregnable, it is unlikely companies such as Tesco would be buying if:He adds that TISS disputes the suggestion that TISS has copied designs.

What both companies do agree on, however, is that the cost of their standard anti-siphon devices (well under 1100) will quickly be paid off by the prevention of even relatively minor fuel thefts, where perhaps 25 litres of fuel are 'skimmed' off the top of a truck's fuel tank.

A Legal siphoning And however vigorous the commercial rivalry between

Customs looking for TISS and TruckProtect. Debbie Jones, general manager of

illegal fuel. use Viper Guard, a Wellesbourne,Warwickshire, company that is happy to sell either of the devices, says: -It's up to the customer to decide which suits them."

Whether a haulier chooses a device from TruckProtect. TISS, or another manufacturer, everybody agrees that none of them will stop a thief so determined that they spike a diesel tank to collect the fuel.What is not clear is how often this happens. Jones says nobody is sure how many trucks have had their tanks pierced to get at diesel.

Both TruckProtect and TISS say they have heard of very few cases of tanks with their devices fitted being spiked to order to get at the fuel."It's very, very rare. It's a bit messy and a bit difficult," says TruckProtect's Fowler.

Other strategies intended to protect fuel and fuel tanks include both diesel dye and reinforced tank caps.

TruckProtect makes a reinforced cap, but Fowler says these are not relevant to the UK market. Their main use, he says, is for large pieces of plant that might be left for extended periods, well away from a secure site, for example.

Theft on the rise

Similarly, diesel dye is not commonly used by UK hauliers. Viper Guard sells a version that dyes diesel blue. but Jones concedes that not much has been sold. It is conceivable that dyed diesel could help police to identify stolen fuel if it is recovered soon after the theft and close to a firm that has registered its use of the dyed fuel.

Whichever methods hauliers adopt to protect themselves against fuel thieves, one of the important questions in 2009 is whether the level of theft will fall as the fuel price has fallen. Some suspect that although the reason theft increased was because of the rise in the fuel price, the reverse may not be true. Fowler says: "The theft appears to have continued as the price has gone down, so it remains to be seen what happens this year."

One reason that thefts might not drop is the recession. Theft tends to increase in difficult economic times, and stealing diesel may be no exception, so hauliers are advised to guard their fuel as carefully as ever. •


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