Warning against importing petrol
Thursday 7th March 2013, 5:00PM GMT.
The sale of super-unleaded petrol will be phased out from the end of March.
ISLANDERS looking to import and sell super-unleaded petrol when garage sales are phased out could face a substantial fine, the Health and Safety Executive has warned.
The words of caution from chief health and safety officer Richard Brown follow the decision by Rubis, the owner of Fuel Supplies (CI) Ltd, to phase-out sale of the fuel, used for high-performance vehicles, from the end of March.
He said the HSE had heard ‘anecdotal evidence’ of islanders planning to import and sell super-unleaded, and he wanted to address the issue before it became a reality.
‘The HSE believes it is important to draw the attention of anyone who is considering importing super-unleaded or any other type of petroleum spirit that it is illegal and an offence under the 1924 law to import and store petroleum products without a licence to do so,’ he said.
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1924 Law? was that not horse power in them days.
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If a way can be found of importing super unleaded correctly,then good luck to the person(s)that find the solution,and the sooner the Health and Safety regime in the uk is banned completely, the better for all of us…Allez.
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If someone was going to import it and store it “correctly” then I am sure that they would get a licence to do so.
But this article is not talking about people doing it correctly, it is a about Mr Le Page from St Saviours bringing a transit van full of jerry cans back on the Condor and keeping them in the shed until he needs to top up his 911. Preventing that kind of thing is not H&S gone mad, it is common sense!
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The article above only stipulates importing the fuel and selling it. So I assume Mr Le Page from St Saviours would be ok as he is only importing it for his own private use. I may be wrong but thats how I read it anyway.
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Stockpiling super-unleaded? I need to get through all this four star petrol in my shed first!
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Why should anyone have to import this fuel, importing it should have never been allowed to stop, what a backward step just to improve the profit of the fuel provider.
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Whilst I can understand the H&S aspect of storing petrol I can also understand why someone might want to bring a large quantity in to the island now that CI Fuels are stopping to import SU. I always use SU in my car because it runs noticeably better on it and also does better MPG, no longer will I be brimming the tank before going off Island.
I just hope the decision is short lived as I know there are a lot of motor enthusiasts in Jersey as well who aren’t very happy about this news.
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High octane fuel is required for high powered cars?!?!
Whilst that might be true, i drive a very normal everyday SEAT LEON – hardly a high powered car, and the manufacturer recommends running it on 97 minimum octane.
If that applies to my SEAT, then it applies to every AUDI / VW / SKODA / SEAT of that age – now suddenly your looking at a large number of cars on the island that will suffer from running on lower octane fuel.
Running on lower octane fuel increases your emissions above normal, so magnify that to island wide scale!
It also reduces the MPG you will get by running on lower octane fuel, simply the engine needs to use more fuel to provide the manufacturers spec power / mpg etc. So realistically the garages are loving this decision, its going to mean much more cash for them!
Its been proven that running your car on a lower octane rating than its supposed to be will reduce your mpg by between 10 and 20% of expectations.
This is BASIC maths being employed here, Rubis are a bunch of ****s for doing this.
So wy exactly did the states buy 2 large fuel ships if they are not capable of bringing fuel into this island?
By the way, if anyone hasnt worked it out, this move by Rubis actually benefits the states itself. Simply, if you have cars running on lower octane fuel, they will use more of it than they previously did, thus the increase in use is directly returned to the states in tax form.
Did you know that as little as 3-4 years ago we payed HALF the price we pay now for fuel!
All of these increases hit everyone and everything especially on an island where lots of items come in by sea!
The list goes on and on of what it messes up!
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bob,
If you think fuel is expensive now, just wait until the States re-introduce road tax!
It will come eventually and you can bet your bottom dollar that fuel prices won’t go down.
The fuel companies and the States have a monopoly and therefore will charge what they like because they know we will have to pay it.
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Totaly agree,that the article is about trying to stop “Mr vehicle” bringing in private loads of super unleaded,and any other fuels on the “quiet”…being an ex “sea dog” myself,i know full well that ferries, are floating bombs in normal circumstances,with decks full of vehicles with their tanks well stocked up.What ever the reasons, for stopping the sale of super unleaded,in these islands,the natural course of events will be, for some individuals to find a way round the problem,it’s human nature.
Whether returning from the UK or Europe,you can bet your life,that vehicles & M/Cs will be “frothing” at the filler cap with imported super unleaded.
Sadly we now live in a world where common sense is not common,and i’m certainly not a fan of H & S,never will be,with it’s ever increasing “iron fist” approach to our lives. However,i agree that things like the possible impotation of “private” loads of fuel,does need monitoring.
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The original excuse Rubis gave is that they are doing work which would take a year to complete and they couldn’t adequately store and provide super unleaded during this time.
If that is a valid reason can we have a statement from Rubis guaranteeing that they will re-instate super unleaded after this work is completed?
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According to one garage this is not the reason for stopping the importation of super unleaded. Unlike regular unleaded which is imported from Milford Haven, Super unleaded has to come from either Liverpool or Rotterdam which involves a mch greater travelling distance and at £5k per day at sea i can kind of understand this.
However surely the cost would be collected from people who use the super unleaded (7% apparantly)??? I use super unleaded every fill up and have since it has been available as it is a far superior fuel to regular 95 RON. The alternative that is being looked at is called ultratech which is an eco friendly fuel but contains ethanol in higher levels which is highly corrosive to the inner workings of my beloved car.
you could also put octane booster in the tank with regular unleaded but this is a gamble as you wouldnt want to over do it and it will cost more too!!
either way i am less than happy with Rubis’s decision!!!! we should start a petition!!
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Ethanol is also extremely reactive with certain plastic petrol tanks (I know of a few motorcyclists whose tanks have warped beyond recognition when using E10 petrol!)
Imagine if your cars petrol tank warped so far it split open and you couldn’t see what had happened.
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It’s obvious that Rubis have done the maths and worked out there is no profit in supporting that petrol type.
Welcome to the market economy. You are free to buy an Astom Martin, Rubis are free not to stock the fuel for it.
It’s a b*tch!
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