Gay warns his patience is wearing thin and threatens to ground the Cootes NSW fleet again
December 6, 2013
McAleese Transport has secured an independent investigator to look at a pump seal leak on a Cootes LPG tanker as the already difficult relationship with New South Wales Roads Minister Duncan Gay deteriorates and gets personal.
Without naming names but already annoyed at supposedly fixed trucks belonging to McAleese subsidiary Cootes amongst others
turning up with defects or underlying issues not addressed, Gay focused on the chain of responsibility risk faced by “the head of the company” and its board of directors.
McAleese sought to clarify the situation today in a stock exchange statement.
“There have been two specific incidents referred to in the press,” it says of reports late yesterday.
“One incident related to a suspected gas leak detected on a Cootes Transport LPG tanker at the Marulan heavy vehicle checking station in NSW on 4 December 2013 which was attended by NSW Police and Hazmat emergency personnel. McAleese Group confirms that the LPG tanker was in fact empty.
“The second incident related to a pump seal leak that was detected on a Cootes Transport LPG tanker at the Mount White heavy vehicle checking station in NSW on 29 November 2013.
“Cootes Transport has commissioned an independent third party investigation into the circumstances around this incident.
“Following the identification of the pump seal leak Cootes Transport has proactively initiated an inspection of its fleet upon loading.”
The announcement came as Gay says that he is “quickly losing patience” with the “serious defects” that continue to surface in the Cootes fleet, despite company assurances of action.
He raises the possibility of grounding the whole NSW fleet again if the situation remains unchanged.
Regarding the two Cootes trucks, his office reports that last week an LPG tanker was detected at Mount White Heavy Vehicle safety station with a leaking gas valve.
NSW Hazmat provided a temporary fix for the leak and ordered the driver to go directly to Taree where it was to have been permanently repaired before resuming service.
The same truck was detected at Mount White travelling in the opposite direction early Saturday morning. The repair work had not been completed.
On Wednesday, RMS inspectors, NSW Police and Hazmat emergency personnel evacuated the Heavy Vehicle Safety Station at Marulan after a second Cootes LPG tanker was found with a leak.
“The short story is if they don’t shape up, we will have no choice but to ground the Cootes fuel tanker fleet in NSW,” Gay states.
“We have a clear duty of care to other road users.
“The head of the company has been put on notice under national Chain of Responsibility legislation that the Board of Directors and management are responsible for the safety and roadworthiness of its fleet.
“In addition, RMS has directed parent company McAleese Group to provide a full account of the measures being taken to resolve the systemic safety issues within the company.
“There are hundreds of drivers and trucks ready to take on the business if they continue to operate with defective vehicles.”
