What surprised me is this took so long to actually hit the news. 

I'm supposed to fly to Sydney tomorrow afternoon. I wonder how that's going to go. 

sbiddle:

 

To me the biggest issue would be Auckland running out of petrol. Nobody has quite tried to scare people yet but surely that must also be a possibility.

 

sbiddle:

 

What surprised me is this took so long to actually hit the news. 

 

They (The Media) weren't hand delivered or "gifted" a press release!

There is no pro-active journalism in NZ now!

sbiddle:

 

What surprised me is this took so long to actually hit the news. 

 

Election mania, the media didn't spot it until some journo could not fly to report on some party rally.

Linuxluver:

 

I'm supposed to fly to Sydney tomorrow afternoon. I wonder how that's going to go. 

 

via Christchurch

Linuxluver:

 

I'm supposed to fly to Sydney tomorrow afternoon. I wonder how that's going to go. 

 

Not sure - but I was caught in Melbourne last year when they ran out of Jet Fuel.

Flying Virgin, 737-800, they're not likely to be able to land from wherever they came from with a large enough load to do a trans-Tasman hop without refueling.  I'd heard about the shortage on the news before we got there, asked at check-in - and they say "no problems" - because that's what they would say.

We got stuck after check-in in a departure lounge for 3 hours, while they were trying to beg or borrow fuel.  They then announce that we'd be flying via a refueling stop in Sydney - which would have probably had us on board for 7 hours and got us home at about 7AM.  People were not happy - and started letting staff know.  Possibly associated with near mutiny, they then immediately announced that they'd managed to get a load of fuel, and we'd be on our way direct shortly. Free booze/food made up for the nuisance somewhat, but still home after 3AM.

From Akl - you should be okay if on a larger aircraft, 777 etc. 

Fred99:

 

From Akl - you should be okay if on a larger aircraft, 777 etc. 

 

DarthKermit:

 

Well that's their liability insurance maxed to hell and back.

 

And who ends up ultimately paying? Is it  the NZ consumer in the future? Why there is no redundancy for such a key piece of NZ infrastructure? But I guess it is a case of not being able to duplicate all key infrastructure like this due to high cost, but IMO it can sometimes be false economy. 

My parents are due to travel out of Auckland for a trip to the UK on Wednesday, I am guessing they will need to plan for either a delay or cancellation, and not sure what insurance coverage they will have . Heaps of knock on effects from this.

I am guessing they may have to do some sort of extra refueling stop, but that is going to cost airlines, if it is actually possible to do. 

Linuxluver:

 

Fred99:

 

From Akl - you should be okay if on a larger aircraft, 777 etc. 

 

You know? I always book on Air NZ and always on the big planes.....not the A320s. 

Looks like I found another reason to insist on it. 

 

Not much choice out of Chch - one 787 a day. otherwise it's A320 or 737-800.  There's more legroom on the 737 - gap under the seat in front is higher - I can almost wiggle my legs out straight.

NRC compliance and monitoring manager Tess Dacre said the fuel had leaked into a farm drain and a "coffer dam" had been put in place to stop the fuel flowing out to the sea.

As I understand it, they run a "pig" (like a piston) down the line when changing the fuel product they're pumping - to separate the fluids (the pipe alone contains several million liters of product, it can carry different fuel in different sections of the line at one time.  IIRC the pipe was commissioned in the 1980s. Fixing it is probably a bit more complex than just bunging any old replacement bit of pipe in place - hopefully they'll have some "spare" original spec pipe at hand.  If tankers (boats) deliver fuel in the meantime - until they get the pipe sorted - then those tankers have to come via the Manukau - not Auckland.

A single full fuel load for an Airbus A380 is several hundred thousand litres - probably something like 8 articulated road tankers. That makes it quite a logistic exercise.

jpoc:

 

sbiddle:

 

What surprised me is this took so long to actually hit the news. 

 

 

Election mania, the media didn't spot it until some journo could not fly to report on some party rally.

 

Its the 11 billion ml hole?

gzt: NZ Herald / Northern Advocate says swamp kauri digging :

NRC compliance and monitoring manager Tess Dacre said the fuel had leaked into a farm drain and a "coffer dam" had been put in place to stop the fuel flowing out to the sea.

firefuze: I got this from Z today;

Refinery pipeline disruption

We want to bring you up to date with a fuel supply issue that the industry is currently managing. This is an issue that is currently of high national interest and I wanted you to hear about this from me as soon as possible.

Refining New Zealand has informed us that there is a fault with the 170-kilometre-long Refinery to Auckland pipeline (RAP). On Thursday afternoon the location of a leak in the pipeline was located close to the refinery and the pipeline has been shut down to enable repairs.

Refining New Zealand owns and operates the pipeline which supplies jet fuel, petrol and diesel into Auckland. While we are waiting for precise confirmation on exactly how long this fault will take to fix, it is currently predicted to be up to 10-14 days - longer than the industry’s available supply of fuel without the pipeline running.

National fuel stocks in New Zealand are healthy and the refinery is still operating, meaning fuel is still being manufactured and shipped to ports around New Zealand. Fuel import vessels are also scheduled for further deliveries as per usual. The industry is now doing everything it can to move fuel by ship and truck around the country to ensure continuity of petrol and diesel stocks in and around Auckland, including through Whangarei and Mount Maunganui.

We will post updates on this issue, including the Refinery’s expected repair times, on a daily basis to the following website www.z.co.nz/RAPoutage.

Again, I want to reiterate Z’s commitment to managing this issue as effectively as possible and with as little disruption to our customers as possible.

Translation:-

"We will put the price of fuel up, not only where the problem is in Auckland, but we will spread the price rise thickly across the whole country"