The UK Army will start transporting fuel on Monday to deal with shortages

United Kingdom Starting Monday, it will deploy almost 200 military tanker trucks, 100 of whom are drivers, to assist in the delivery of fuel to gas stations and help solve the shortage of drivers of heavy vehicles (HGV), the government reported Friday. .

Many British petrol stations remained dry on Friday after a chaotic week of panic buying, pump fights and drivers stockpiling fuel in bottles, after a severe shortage of truckers put supply chains to the test.

Ministers in Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government have insisted for days that the crisis is subsiding or even over, but retailers said more than 2,000 gas stations were dry and Reuters reporters across London and southern England said dozens of jets were still closed.

The government said military personnel are conducting their training at carrier sites across Britain. ”As the situation stabilizes, our Armed Forces are there to fill any critical vacancies and help keep the country moving by supporting the industry to supply fuel to gas stations, ”said Defense Minister Ben Wallace.

Last Sunday, the government announced a plan to issue temporary visas to 5,000 foreign truckers and 5,500 workers in the poultry industry to alleviate the shortage.

Some of the truckers said they would refuse visas because the term was not long enough.

On Friday, the government modified those plans, introducing a bespoke plan to allow up to 300 tanker truck drivers to come to the UK immediately but for a time.

The 300, who are part of the 5,000, will be able to work in the United Kingdom until the end of March 2022. The rest, 4,700, will arrive from the end of October and will leave at the end of February 2022.

_______________________________