Currently, the messages accumulate that there are problems with refueling at the boat refueling stations in the countries bordering the Adriatic Sea, as well as generally on the coasts of the EU. What is to be considered?
Currently, many water sports enthusiasts report that there are problems with boat refueling stations on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea between the Apennine Peninsula and the Balkan Peninsula, as well as on the coasts of other European countries.
The reason for this is not that there is no fuel – there is. The real problem is that many fuel stations have currently been closed completely, for example, or opening hours have been changed at short notice and without prior notice, in other words: shortened.
Reason are personnel problems, it is said
When asked, those affected who had moored in front of closed gas pumps received the answer that there were currently “staffing problems” throughout the EU. Especially in Croatia, Italy and the Spanish mainland, many companies would have problems finding or keeping suitable staff.
“Just today we towed a SeaHelp member from the island of Ist north of Zadar in the Dalmatia region to Mali Losinj, because the gas station in the north of the island of Ist has been closed for days due to staff layoffs”, says SeaHelp managing director Wolfgang Dauser.
Currently it is difficult to keep the opening hours of the gas stations in the SeaHelp app up to date, because they are constantly changing at short notice
For the aforementioned reasons, he said, it is also currently very difficult to keep the opening hours of boat refueling stations up to date in the Sea-Help APP, as in some cases “opening hours are shortened several times a day and then extended again shortly afterwards.”
SeaHelp advises all sport skippers to check as early as possible on the situation at nearby fuel stations and, if necessary, find out alternative fueling options. The tank of the boat / yacht should not be driven empty under any circumstances, so that an appropriate action radius is maintained.
Sport skippers should always keep a reserve in the tank. An advance call to the targeted gas station helps to prevent nasty surprises
It has proven to call the corresponding boat refueling stations in advance to find out if and when they are currently open, and whether enough fuel is available. Because: the shortage of personnel also affects the transport companies that would supply the fuel, it is said. Those who have the opportunity to stash some fuel in reserve canisters should do so.
According to the responsible authorities in Croatia, for example, the situation is expected to return to normal by the start of the main season at the latest, so that the fuel supply at the boat refueling stations can be reliably guaranteed again from around mid-June.
More and more work has had to be done by fewer and fewer employees in recent times, and many have resigned
In some cases, it has been possible to observe in recent seasons how the staff at service stations in the Adriatic region and beyond has been successively downsized; work that was done by several employees a few years ago had to be done in some cases by individual employees.
This has led to overwork and dissatisfaction among employees, who have subsequently resigned from their jobs, it is said. Thus, the operators “had no choice but to reduce the opening hours to three to five hours per day in some cases or to close the service stations completely on some days” – at the expense of the boaters.
SeaHelp will continue to provide up-to-date reports on the situation at the service stations at this point – and will try to keep the Sea-Help APP up to date in this regard as well, if possible.
24h EMERGENCY CALL EUROPE: 0043 50 43 112
In an emergency, SeaHelp’s response boats can be called using the handy SeaHelp app, or by calling the free emergency number for Europe 0043 50 43 112 (or the alternative emergency number for Europe 00385 919 112 112.
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