Army to the Rescue: UK to Mobilise Soldiers in ‘Couple of Days’ to Drive Tankers Amid Fuel Crisis

Prime Minister Boris Johnson sought to allay fears when commenting on the fuel crisis gripping the country on Tuesday, insisting the situation was “stabilising”, supplies were coming back to forecourts, and urging motorists to go about their business "in the normal way" after days of chaos and panic buying at UK petrol stations.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has confirmed that soldiers are to be mobilised within days to help resolve the UK fuel crisis amid a shortfall of heavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers, reported UK broadcasters.

As motorists across the country continued to battle long queues at petrol stations, despite Prime Minister Boris Johnson insisting that the situation was improving. Kwarteng said:

“I think in the next couple of days, people will see some soldiers driving the tanker fleet. The last few days have been difficult. We’ve seen large queues but I think the situation is stabilising, we’re getting petrol into the forecourts. I think we’re going to see our way through this.”

'In the next couple of days people will see some soldiers driving the tanker fleet'

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng confirms the army will be delivering fuel to petrol stations within days https://t.co/FFppWIYkJO pic.twitter.com/9QisBMUhUE

— ITV News Politics (@ITVNewsPolitics) September 29, 2021

Earlier, the government had put the army on standby in case the fuel situation worsened. Sky News reported that the 150 soldiers who are being mobilised to help boost fuel supplies, albeit HGV qualified, may require three days of extra training before they can tackle the task of driving huge tankers.

I can confirm the government's Reserve Tanker Fleet will be on the road this afternoon to boost deliveries of fuel to forecourts across Britain.

The trucks are driven by civilians and will provide additional logistical capacity to the fuel industry (1/2)

— Kwasi Kwarteng (@KwasiKwarteng) September 29, 2021

Kwarteng also said that the government’s reserve tanker fleet will be on the road in the afternoon, with trucks driven by civilians delivering fuel to forecourts. When asked if he could guarantee the busy pre-Christmas period would not be plagued by supply problems Kwarteng said:

“I’m not guaranteeing anything. All I’m saying is that, I think the situation is stabilising.”

'Early Signs Fuel Crisis Ending'

James Spencer, managing director at fuel supplier Portland Fuel, was cited by the BBC as saying the worst of the situation was over. According to him, sending in the army would "generate more panic".

"Under normal circumstances supply can easily meet demand," he said on BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

The Petrol Retailers Association, which represents around 5,500 independent forecourts across the UK, has emphasised there were “early signs that the crisis at pumps is ending”. While late last week it stated that 50%-90% of its members had reported running dry, on Tuesday the organisation said the figure had dropped to 37%.

A UK petrol station without fuel

© REUTERS / Petrol station

Boris Johnson on Tuesday attempted to reassure drivers about fuel supplies, saying that people should be "confident" to go about their business as normal. “We now are starting to see the situation improve; we’re hearing from (the) industry that supplies are coming back on to the forecourt in the normal way,” said the Prime Minister. He added that a “slightly misleading” account of the shortages of HGV drivers had triggered an “understandable surge in public demand”.

Vehicles queue to refill outside a Shell fuel station in Redbourn, Britain, September 25, 2021. REUTERS/Peter Cziborra

© REUTERS / PETER CZIBORRA

After Brexit, many European drivers went back to their home countries because of the additional border red tape, with the COVID-19 pandemic also triggering unexpected changes, forcing more foreign drivers to leave the UK.

We are now seeing signs that the situation at the pumps has begun to improve with more stations getting more fuel.

The sooner we can all return to our normal buying habits, the sooner the situation will return to normal (2/2) https://t.co/KJaFgXRsnu

— Kwasi Kwarteng (@KwasiKwarteng) September 29, 2021

While government ministers and oil companies have been trying to put an end to the panic buying, insisting that fuel supplies are plentiful at refineries, by early morning rush hour Wednesday there were already long queues of cars at forecourts, with signs at some sites announcing no fuel was available.

Downing Street has resorted to an array of emergency measures to deal with the crisis, issuing a total of 10,500 temporary visas for lorry drivers and poultry workers to last up until Christmas. The government also suspended some competition rules for the fuel delivery industry to allow for better information-sharing by companies. required.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer at his conference speech in Brighton waded into the fuel crisis.

“If you go out and walk along the seafront, it won’t be long before you get to a petrol station that’s run out of fuel. Doesn’t that just tell you everything about this government? Ignoring the problem, blaming someone else, then coming up with a half-baked solution.Why do we suddenly have a shortage of HGV drivers? Why is there no plan in place?” he questioned.

Meanwhile, the fuel prices could reach record levels even if crisis ends, RAC was cited as saying by the BBC. RAC Fuel Watch Spokesman Simon Williams was cited as saying: "When it comes to pump prices, it's a pretty bleak picture for drivers. With the cost of oil rising and now near a three-year high, wholesale prices are being forced up which means retailers are paying more than they were just a few days ago for the same amount of fuel. This has led to the price of a litre of unleaded already going up by a penny since Friday. We might yet see higher forecourt prices in the coming days, irrespective of the current supply problems."

The RAC said average prices may hit 143p per litre for petrol and 145p per litre for diesel in the next few weeks, up from the current level of 135p per litre for petrol and 138p per litre for diesel.