European fuel terminals halted by ‘IT issues’ amid German hack

Multiple fuel terminals in Europe’s oil-trading hub have been forced to halt operations because of ‘IT issues’, according to a broker. 

“Numerous terminals in ARA have been impacted by IT issues,” Riverlake, which organizes barge shipments, said in a note. ARA stands for Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Antwerp—the nerve center of Europe’s oil and fuel-trading network. “The waiting queue is still building up since Sunday, with currently no prospects when the operations can resume” 

The incident suggests that a cyberattack at the weekend in Germany—which only affected inland German fuel distribution—might be more widespread and impactful for Europe’s trade in oil and fuels. ARA is vital because it’s the heartland of northwest Europe’s oil refining industry, and a starting point for getting barge-loads of fuel up the Rhine river to inland Europe.

The German cyberattack affected a company that had about 18 million tons of fuel throughput through its storage sites in 2020. Riverlake said that the incident in Germany is causing limited operations and rerouting of supplies.