Pipeline rations space on Baltimore fuel line after bridge disaster

Colonial Pipeline, the largest fuel pipeline system in the US, is rationing space on a small line to Baltimore in a move that signals demand is exceeding capacity after a vital bridge collapsed.

The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore fell Tuesday after being struck by a container ship and is threatening to upend regional supply chains as it disrupts operations at one of the most important ports on the US East Coast. Much of the Baltimore area gets its fuel via pipeline rather than barges, meaning extra supplies will likely have to flow through the Colonial Pipeline.

Colonial issued an allocation notice for line 32, which delivers gasoline, diesel and jet fuel between Maryland’s Dorsey Junction to Baltimore neighborhood Curtis Bay. The notice is for cycle 17, which spans April 9 and April 16. Allocations on the line are relatively less common than on Colonial’s main line known as Line 1.

The company also froze nominations, meaning shippers can’t send more barrels than initially indicated, for the prior two cycles.

“The allocation indicates that nominations from shippers exceed our capacity to ship on the following five-day cycle,” Colonial said in an emailed statement. “Our system continues to operate normally.”