Unleaded Service Closure - Wharf - Mooloolaba

[Smithy]

Informal meeting/"call to arms" at 7:00 at Kawana Pub tonight to discuss the closure of the Wharf Unleaded services! Word got out yesterday and it is out of fuel today.

http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/story/2010/12/11/closure-hits-150-boats-on-coast-fuel-environmental/

[Lucky_Phill]

very ordinary, Smithy. such late notice.

and also the new regs, probably go overboard.



LP

[danners]

anyone know what the new regs state and how the facility wasn't matching them?

overnight notice, bloody hell... bit harsh to make an extreme understatement

cheers
Dan

[captain rednut]

i can see some serious potential risks of fire or spills as people will have to fuel up there boats with 20ltr plastic containers or even worse steel drums, i suppose it will take an accident to happen for the people responsible relize how serious the implications are.
im very dissapointed to hear this news.
cheers jim

[Lucky 1]

A very good friend of mine has a 32 foot Mustang moored up in the canals. I takes 500 litres of unleaded. How is this guy expected to fill his boat safely ???

[4x4frog]

Sure smacks of bureaucratic grandstanding for want of a better term. Some boffin is up for a possible promo in the new Year so he bignotes it by making some rash decision. The public will be strung along by some change to the law to make the old system look unsafe and justify his reason for the change.
About time these decision makers got out into the real world and saw the consequences of their decision making.

[Luc]

But do we know what the new regulations are?

Luc

[Smithy]

I think the tanks are underground, right underneath the Wharf Tavern (old Fridays). I don't think they will be knocking it down anytime soon to start from scratch. Good chance for another commercial venture to take on unleaded but it is now a timing thing. Going to be a nightmare over Christmas. Paul Sorrell from Chippos Fuel at Lawries Marina looked into doing unleaded a while ago. It was going to take him 10years+ to recoup the investment in a new facility. DeBretts Wharf on the spit might be a chance. All the longliners and trawlers fill up there. Timing was great on a Friday afternoon. Lots of ringing around will be occuring today as it is the first week day since it all happened.

[PADDLES]

well rules is rules, what was their issue with the epa reg's?

i look at things from the other side of the coin too, if there was some sort of safety issue and the government let them continue to operate, and then something went wrong, everyone would have been baying for the blood of the government over it's inaction.

that's hard luck for operators of big boats using unleaded though like the shark contractor, there's not many other options nearby.

[Smithy]

Latest article.

http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/story/2010/12/13/running-on-empty-mooloolaba-harbour-fuel-closure/

[PADDLES]

they still don't elaborate on exactly what the issue was though smithy. it sounds very similar to the bulwer servo actually when they de-commissioned their tank. the reality probably is that they don't sell enough fuel (or make enough money out of it) to pay for the upkeep/replacement of big stuff like the tank and so it's just easier and better for the business to shut it down. if they put the price up to try and cover their investment then people will probably not buy fuel from them anyway and they'll be stuck with something not paying for itself.

[Smithy]

It is an absolute embarrasement for the Sunshine Coast and maybe the council needs to step in. A small town like Tin Can Bay has three places you can get unleaded on the water if you count Carlo yet a major port like Mooloolaba has nothing. The council or the local members could put pressure on the EPA to allow this facility to keep trading till a new commercial venture can be set up or some relaxation of the laws to allow mini tankers to fill up vessels at wharves like DeBretts/Pinzones/Lawries.

People will always buy fuel off the water no matter the cost and no matter the price. Human's are lazy creatures and there is no way anyone wants to jerry can 100s of litres aboard on a regular basis.

I think the tanks will have to be above ground and bunded under the new EPA rules or something like that. They are currently underground.

As for the Government stepping in to prop up a commercial venture for the good of the community you only have to think about things like ABC Child Care centres etc. I know when I was working for local government the coucil did a lot of leg work for various commercial operations to speed things up/initiate contact etc. for things that were going to benefit the whole community. A similar thing happened to us at the Kingaroy Airport when one fuel company wanted to shut their facility so the council bent over backwards getting an opposition fuel company to come to town and put in an Avgas bowser.

[Apollo]

Rob

Contact your local DEEDI office and ask to talk to a business development officer. Explain your situation and concerns and how it will affect local business such as yourself. Thye should be in the business of looking for a solution and working with alternative operators to provide the facility.

Steve

[Smithy]

Steve,

good call. Did it straight away. Dunno if it will go anywhere. Maybe if a new guy hit the scene who wanted to set up a facility they would help out. See how I go. The call centre person in Brisbane didn't offer much hope but the officer up here was looking into things for us.

[Smithy]

Latest articles.

Missed an article over the weekend.

http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/story/2010/12/12/sunshine-coast-council-fuel-facilities-stall/

And today.

http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/story/2010/12/14/council-secures-boat-fuel-supply-mooloolaba-wharf/

[PADDLES]

good stuff smithy, it sounds like the council are treating this seriously and hopefully you guys will get a more permanent outcome.

you can't blame the wharf or the epa for what's happened, it's just a business decision made by a private business, even though it does seem a little strange about the late notice of the closure.

[Smithy]

By all accounts Browns Slipway are up and running with unleaded, Mon-Fri, limited hours up till lunch time till they see how it goes.

[Kevaclone]

I used to deliver fuel to the Wharf Marina, not an ideal delivery location and even worse, the fill points outside the tavern on the footpath are right next to a storm water drain that goes direct to the river, a spill during delivery has major implications. Blocking the footpath during deliveries resulted in very angry(and lazy) pedestrians that insisted they shouldn't have to walk around the truck and that they should be able to walk across the delivery hoses etc. So Public Liability issues there. The other problem was the tank location, right under the bistro/beer garden, with the dip pints under tables etc. and the tank breathers right above it(in winter they use gas fired heaters just below the breathers)
Also had the problem of getting a semi trailer fuel tanker in and out of the carpark full of Tourists visiting Underwater World

As for the rest of the facility I don't know as I never went that side

[Boat Hog]

Is unleaded available on water at Mooloolaba?

Browns slipway or Lawries marina?

Cheers,

[tae4551]

at the floating pontoon at browns which is now called rockcliff

[bugman]

Without trying to hijack the thread - just don't come to the Tweed river if you want to fill up on unleaded.
The closest fuel station - even for diesel now is Southport.
WHAT A JOKE !!!!