Substandard diesel unloaded despite failing quality standards:Union

COLOMBO (Daily Mirror) - Permission has been granted to unload a stock of substandard diesel at the Kolonnawa refinery, despite both the initial and subsequent tests conducted by the Ceylon Petroleum Storage Terminals Limited (CPSTL) laboratory indicating a failure to meet the required quality standards, trade unions said.

Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) affiliated Samagi United Trade Union Force (SUTUF) convener and spokesman, Ananda Palitha told the Daily Mirror that both the fuel samples sent for testing at the CPSTL laboratory failed to meet the required standards and sample bottles have
been sent to the ship to start unloading.

“According to reports, a chemical was utilized to facilitate the settling of dust particles at the bottom of the tank. As a result, a new fuel sample was sent to the CPSTL laboratory in order to obtain an approved report,” Palitha said.

“Pending approval from the authorities, the plan is to pump out the dust particles from the ship into the Kolonnawa fuel tanks, where high-quality diesel is stored. Unfortunately, the CPSTL laboratory tests have confirmed that the diesel fuel stock does not meet their specifications, and the cleanliness of the fuel falls below the required standards,” Palitha said.

He said LIOC had brought 20,000 metric tons of diesel to China bay and another 11,000 metric tons of diesel to Kolonnawa refinery from the ship ‘MT-FOS POWER’ which arrived on November 5.

Earlier, 6,500 metric tons of petrol were unloaded as the tests were passed, according to the CPSTL laboratory tests.

The CPSTL laboratory assistant manager and a representative from the LIOC went to the ship for testing. During their visit, it was found that the diesel stock was not of good quality.

However, he said the decision was taken to unload the stock following the decision of the CPC and the higher management.

“The deputy laboratory technician has said that if the diesel stock does not meet the CPSTL specifications, it should not be unloaded.
The technician highlighted that unloading such stock would have consequences for which the people would be held accountable," he said.

"The government has yet to make a decision regarding compensation for the individuals affected by the previous incident of pumping fuel of poor quality into their vehicles. It is concerning to note that the manager who accepted the substandard fuel stock is currently serving as the deputy general manager. This means that he is responsible for overseeing laboratory testing and making crucial decisions in this regard," Palitha said.

If the diesel stock is unloaded 100 percent, the distribution will start, and innocent people will suffer, he added.

Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa recently revealed in Parliament that a stock of 40,000 MTs of substandard diesel was being released to the market despite quality failures.

He also said that two LIOC laboratory test reports on the samples of the diesel stock had detected that it is of inferior quality.

However, several attempts to contact the CPSTL Deputy General Manager, the Assistant Laboratory Technician, and the Managing Director to inquire about the news item was failed.