DAMON BULL & ALEX BUNNEY

Blank displays are common

Perth motorists and truck drivers are in the midst of a diesel shortage.

Fuel stations across Perth began running out of fuel late on Thursday afternoon and many remain out of stock today.

BP, which is responsible for stocking all fuel stations in Perth, has blamed the shortage on a slight discoloration in the most recent shipload of diesel fuel.

BP Government Affairs Analyst, Charles Perrottet, said the shortage should be addressed within a few days.

But Mr Perrottet would not give a specific timeframe.

Supply of diesel fuel will continue but it will be at reduced levels until the shortage is resolved.

With diesel fuel an integral component to many Perth businesses the shortage has come at a bad time for transport industry workers.

At a BP truckstop in Welshpool, Perth truck driver Paul Butler said he called three service stations before finding one that had diesel in stock.

“I knew about the shortage so I just called first rather than driving around to find one,” he said.

While many smaller service stations have diesel in stock, Mr Butler said the biggest issue he had was access.

“Quite a few service stations still have diesel but you can’t fit a truck in there,” he said.

Many BP truck stops have plenty of diese

“You can’t pull these big rigs into any servo.

“It has to be a truck stop and there’s not many in the middle of the city.”

“BP won’t run out.

“The tanks are right there but the Shell round the corner is out and the Peak on Kewdale road is out too.”

Of the 12 service stations InkWire visited around the Welshpool area six of them had run out of diesel.

Queues at many Perth service stations are becoming more and more common.

Ben Bayliss, a motorist travelling to Jurien Bay for the long weekend said he was filling up now rather than risking running out of fuel in the next few days.

Motorists queue for Diesel

“We’re getting away for the long weekend like most of the people here and just want to be safe,” said Mr Bayliss whose Toyota Prado has a 180-Litre tank.

Caltex on the corner of Manning Road and Ley Street in Manning still had diesel in stock at 9:30am.

However, an hour later the servo had run out.

FuelWatch has advised motorists to call ahead to see if stations have diesel.