‘This is really a waste of time’: Bali drivers queue for hours for fuel as Indonesia blames a tanker delay, bad weather and panic-buying

Long lines of vehicles snaked outside gas stations across Indonesia’s resort island of Bali this week after fuel deliveries were disrupted by a combination of technical problems, bad weather and surging demand, officials said Wednesday.

On the tourism-dependent island, motorcycles and cars waited outside stations and spilled onto nearby roads as motorists scrambled for fuel.

The lines have been reported since Sunday.

Officials stressed that the shortages were caused by domestic distribution problems rather than a lack of fuel supplies or turmoil in global energy markets.

“This is purely a distribution issue,” said Laode Sulaeman, director-general of oil and gas at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry.

“A fuel tanker was delayed, but it has now arrived and 24-hour deliveries have been underway since yesterday.” Sulaeman said that a tanker carrying fuel to Bali suffered an anchor problem while preparing to unload cargo, delaying deliveries to the island’s main fuel terminals.

Rough seas and bad weather also slowed shipments to the Sanggaran terminal in Denpasar and the Manggis terminal in eastern Bali.

The disruption was compounded by strong demand for government-subsidized Pertalite gasoline, which is significantly cheaper than nonsubsidized fuel.

Panic-buying by motorists worried about shortages further strained supplies at some stations.

At several gas stations, attendants posted signs reading, “Sorry, no fuel available,” while drivers and motorcyclists waited outside closed facilities for new deliveries.

The shortages have frustrated residents and business owners on the resort island, where transportation is critical for daily life and tourism.

“This is really a waste of time.

We should be productive, but instead we’re stuck in line,” said Made Marlianti, who said she had spent about seven hours waiting for fuel under the hot sun.

Fashion store owner Febi Marsha said that authorities should have managed the situation more effectively before it escalated.