Gareth Davis, Gleaner Writer
PORTLAND:
THE FUEL shortage being experienced in Portland is approaching critical proportions as despite a recent delivery of supplies. Only one retailer in Port Antonio currently has gas reserves.
The scheduled arrival of fuel trucks from the state-owned Petrojam on Monday had been expected to soothe fears but consumers are on the verge of panicking as the reserves have dwindled rapidly, and are now dangerously low. The town has a population of 40,000 people.
CUT OFF
Since Friday, the loss of the Rio Grande bridge in St. Margaret's Bay, coupled with the blocked main roads in St. Thomas, have left the parish virtually cut off from the rest of the island.
When the trucks arrived on Monday night with fuel from Petrojam, the Petcom retailer received 6,500 gallons of gasolene while the Esso retailer received 4,000 gallons. However, investigations revealed that Shell and Texaco retailers did not receive any fuel, and "were unsure about when they would be getting fuel."
Since that delivery, the gasolene reserves available at the Esso retailer have already been exhausted. The representatives promised that they would try to get "more in by Wednesday."
NO GASOLENE SIGNS
"The supply received here at Petcom is expected to last only a few days, and the next scheduled delivery will be on Friday so we are concerned," Dawn Henry, assistant manager of the Petcom gas station in Port Antonio told The Gleaner yesterday.
Retailers at the Texaco, Shell and Esso service stations had all posted no gasolene signs since Sunday. But on Monday, Winston Watson, managing director at Petrojam, confirmed that supplies of fuel had been dispatched to Portland.
"So far, four trucks have left the refinery for Portland," he said. "Each is carrying 3,000 gallons and an additional truck also left later on during the day." Mr. Watson also added that daily dispatches of petroleum would be sent to the parish to alleviate the problem.
Meanwhile, as the petroleum crisis drags on, Ms. Henry told The Gleaner that Petcom's limited supply of gasolene is being reserved for the parish's emergency services.
"We have provided our valued customers with a small amount of gasolene each to ensure that they remain mobile, as they too form an integral part of our operational success," she said.
