A government investigation into non-compliant GRW fuel tankers has uncovered a Lakeland Tanker containing defects.
In a written statement to parliament, transport minister Andrew Jones said a full-scale test of the tanker had found that safety was not compromised by the defects, but he conceded that they were being looked into by the manufacturer.
Jones explained that the test carried out as part of a research project went beyond the scope of the inspections required by law, and “found a fuel tanker properly certified in the UK to contain defects of a lesser significance than those in the tankers found not to be in full compliance”.
The issue arose following research into imported GRW fuel tankers, which were discovered to have been wrongly certified under ADR regulations.
Originally, the DfT admitted there were 230 affected tanker trailers – about 10% of the market – but this has now fallen to 70 that are still not in full compliance. These will be withdrawn from the roads by 31 December 2015.
Jones said the department had spent £500,000 on research that found improvements could be made to the international regulations, which would enhance safety of the tankers, “in the event of a collision or rollover incident”.
A DfT spokesman said the Lakeland Tanker was an Innovator model manufactured in 2011 and it had reached the end of a rental contract.
It was inspected because it was of a similar design to the imported GRW tankers. “All enquiries into Lakeland Tankers have concluded,” said the spokesman.
A Lakeland Tankers statement said it was “pleased to announce that after extensive research by the DfT and enquiries by the HSE, the design and build of the Innovator series of tankers has been found to be compliant with current legislation and structurally safe in full-scale testing”.
Pictured: A GRW tanker
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