May 10 (Xinhua) According to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), after the largest oil pipeline company in the United States suffered a cyber attack, on the 9th local time, the US government issued an emergency declaration to ensure fuel transportation and supply.
A regional emergency declaration issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration under the U.S. Department of Transportation on the 9th. Image source: Screenshot of the official website of the U.S. Department of Transportation
According to the website of the US Department of Transportation, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration under the Department of Transportation issued a regional emergency declaration on the 9th. The emergency declaration grants 17 states and Washington, D.C., temporary exemptions for the transportation of gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other refined products so that the fuel can be transported by road because of the emergency.
Colonial Pipeline, the largest oil pipeline operator in the United States, said on the 7th that the company was hit by a cyber attack and then shut down a 5,500-mile pipeline that transports nearly half of the East Coast’s fuel supply. The incident raised concerns about physical shortages of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Raimondo said on the 9th that the federal government is providing help to the company to avoid supply disruptions.
According to Colonial Pipeline’s website, the company’s refineries on the Gulf Coast are capable of delivering fuel to more than 50 million people in the South and East.