The woman raised concerns that people returning from holiday might be left stranded if there is a fuel shortage and wondered if there was a current strike action underway.

A trusted source in the fuel industry says that there is a problem with a pipeline, supplying fuel from Durban to Gauteng which is influencing the availability of especially low sulfur diesel, used in newer diesel vehicle models.

Anton Human, manager at Alzu Petroport, said that they were expecting a delivery today (Friday). He foresees no problems at the popular rest stop over what is sure to be a busy weekend, as holiday goers return to Gauteng for the start of the new school term.

Henk Froneman from Ultra City said that he is aware of the issue with the pipeline, but that Ultra City Middelburg is a priority site. They do not have current fuel shortages and are not expecting any issues regarding fuel supply over the weekend.

Veritas Fuel in Middelburg was not aware of any problems and said that they make daily trips to Gauteng to collect fuel. They have not come across any issues.