Safe tankers

The stand-off between the All-Pakistan Oil Tankers Association and the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority, which led to a two-day strike and the closure of over half of the petrol pumps in the country, was essentially about safety. After 200 people were killed in the oil tanker explosion in Bahawalpur in June, Ogra belatedly tried to enforce safety regulations. Less than half of the oil tankers in the country currently meet the requisite safety standards, according to the Oil Companies Advisory Committee while Ogra puts the number at 75 percent. The main point of contention for the APOTA was Ogra’s safety demand that tankers which carry 40,000 litres of petrol should have three axles, whereas most of the tankers have two axles. Ultimately, the tanker mafia was able to win again, at the cost of the public’s safety. By going on strike for two days, the APOTA caused a mass panic as people rushed to buy whatever petrol they could get their hands on. A black market for petrol was created, which led to an immediate increase in the price of a litre of petrol. This, combined with the state’s closeness to the tanker mafia, led to Ogra backing off on enforcing its safety regulations.

By going on strike, the APOTA held Ogra – and by extension the rest of us – hostage. Ogra has now agreed to increase the freight rate of oil tankers and to hold off on enforcing its safety standards. But it is disingenuous of the APOTA to claim that it merely wants time to be able to adjust to new safety regulations. These regulations were put in place back in 2009 and oil tankers were given five years to comply. At least half of them did not do so, directly causing disasters like the one in Bahawalpur. It is the responsibility of the owners of oil tankers to ensure they meet the requisite safety standards and for the regulator – Ogra – to keep a check on them and punish them if they are not compliant. Neither side is carrying out its duties. The oil tanker mafia, concerned only with the bottom line, takes shortcuts and then cries foul if anyone tries to hold it accountable. Ogra is under the direct control of a government and state that is more concerned with the bottom line of private companies than the lives of the public. The strike may now be over but all of us are at as great a risk as before.