After the hacker attack on a US pipeline, fuel flows again

After panic gasoline purchases after the hacker attack on a US pipeline, the situation is easing: the pipeline operator Colonial has now resumed supplying customers with fuel. "Colonial Pipeline has made significant strides in safely restarting our pipeline system," said the company. "Product delivery has started in a majority of the markets we serve." However, it could take days or even weeks for the situation to normalize. Thousands of gas stations in the eastern United States have run out of fuel. Long queues have formed in front of petrol pumps as drivers panic buying. In some cases, this has bizarre flowers: the authorities warned drivers not to fill gasoline in plastic bags after corresponding images were circulated on online platforms. Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg said fuel should only be poured directly into the tank or into approved containers. "Now is the time to be careful and sensible." The consumer protection agency CPSC warned of the potentially "deadly consequences": "Do not fill plastic bags with gasoline. We know this sounds easy, but when people are desperate they no longer think clearly." US President Joe Biden therefore appealed to his compatriots: "Do not buy more gasoline than you need in the next few days," he said in the White House. The supply will normalize again in the coming days and "panic buying will only delay it". Seeing queues at gas stations is scary, he admitted. The most important thing now is "not to panic". Colonial Pipeline was the target of a blackmail Trojan attack last week. The largest pipeline in volume in the USA, which runs from Houston in the state of Texas to the greater New York area, has therefore been temporarily shut down. This led to supply shortages in states like Florida, Georgia, Virginia and Maryland. Some governors declared a state of emergency - which seemed to induce many drivers to buy hamsters. In view of the supply bottlenecks, the national average of gasoline prices rose to more than three dollars (around 2.50 euros) per gallon for the first time since 2014.