Mpumalanga Transnet fuel pipeline hit, police hunt for suspects

Police in Vosman are working hard to locate suspects involved in the damage of Transnet essential infrastructure, which resulted in over a million rand worth of fuel lost and the underground pipeline damaged.

Bidvest security personnel reported the incident after discovering an unidentified liquid heavily spraying at Tau Farm on Thursday afternoon.

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Fuel spilling from Transnet pipeline

Police and other relevant stakeholders were summoned to the scene, where they discovered the liquid that was fuel spilling from Transnet underground pipeline.

“On further investigation, it was noticed that the hole, estimated at four metres, was dug directly into the pipeline. The loss incurred is estimated at R800 000, and we are awaiting the exact figure after Transnet conducted its investigations,” said Mpumalanga Colonel Donald Mdhluli.

The Provincial Commissioner of the Saps in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela has urged community members to refrain from damaging essential infrastructure.

“Besides the loss incurred by Transnet, people’s lives were in danger. Criminals should bear in mind that we are talking about fuel here. Should it have happened that accidentally the land caught fire, we were going to lose several innocent lives, maybe including the suspects’ relatives,” warned the General.

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Transnet fuel theft ongoing

Two years ago, The Citizen reported theft from Transnet’s bulk fuel pipeline network traversing five provinces had reached crisis levels, with at least 3 million litres of fuel stolen in 50 incidents in 2021 alone.

That same year in April, Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan revealed that fuel worth almost R250 million had been stolen from the state-owned rail, logistics, port and pipeline company since March 2019.

Transnet’s pipelines spanning 3,114km from KwaZulu-Natal to North West carry about 16 billion litres of petroleum products, including diesel, petrol, aviation turbine fuel and crude oil from the coast to the inland market each year.

Transnet had lamented that the tampering and damage to the pipeline because of theft continues to remain the biggest threat to the security of fuel supply, particularly to the inland areas that account for over 60% of the demand.

Additional reporting by Sipho Mabena

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