Bali fuel shortage a warning to Australians as tourists left stranded in petrol station chaos

Fuel shortage chaos in the holiday hotspot of Bali is affecting locals and tourists alike, as motorists are forced to queue for hours at petrol stations after the island’s supply chain was interrupted this week.

A single tanker ship carrying 22 million litres of diesel suffered a mechanical anchor failure off the coast of Bali, delaying its offloading processes at a major port in Denpasar.

Although the mechanical failure was resolved, the delay still disrupted fuel distribution to the island’s depots and caused shortages in tourist cities such as Denpasar and Badung.

In an effort to ease the burden of the shortages, Governor I Wayan Koster ordered government employees to work from home for a period of three days from Thursday, while schools and universities were told to close and utilise online learning for the same time period.

Many Australian expats and tourists have said they are having difficulty hailing taxi services, hiring vehicles, or finding fuel for their own transport.

Amidst the chaos of petrol station queues and roadside breakdowns, people are opting to walk long distances to avoid waiting in lines or for cabs that fail to appear.

Petrol costs as little as 90c per litre in Bali, but many motorists have been unable to source the subsidised Pertalite petrol that is relied on for cost-effectively running mopeds, motorbikes and cars.

Where Pertalite or Pertamax have been available, chaotic queues have meant hours-long delays in traffic and a flow-on effect of disruption to almost every industry.

Head of energy research at MST Marquee told news.com.au the scenes in Bali should be a warning to Australians of how quickly the situation can deteriorate in the current fuel market.

“It’s another signal of how tight the diesel market is, and we are not out of the woods on this front,” he said.

Mr Kavonic recently commented on Australia’s position at “the top of the list” of nations to be likely disrupted by major global fuel shortages.

“Australia is a large exporter of just about everything. The one thing that we’re not is on fuel,” Mr Kavonic said.

“And so that’s our one vulnerability. And so now I think that is the case to say we have to build that sovereign capability again. So we’re at least partially self-sufficient once more.”

The Indonesian government has committed to round the clock fuel deliveries while keeping petrol stations open at all hours to reinstate fuel supply following the eventual successful delivery of the fuel.

Governor Wayan has suggested the shortages will be rectified within the next seven days.

“People don’t need to worry because the fuel is available,” he said, noting more fuel shipments are expected to arrive within the week.

The global fuel crisis was further worsened on Friday when two ships were sunk in the Strait of Hormuz as conflict continues over the critical trade route.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps has claimed it will be attacking multiple ships each night.