Private fuel tanker operators have warned they will stop delivering fuel to filling stations from Friday unless the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation revises the formula that sets their haulage charges, raising the prospect of supply disruption at pumps.
The Ceylon Petroleum Private Tanker Owners Association (CPPTOA) said it had sought a revision of transport charges in 2025, with discussions held on applying revised rates from January 2026, but that no revision had been implemented. Chairman A.M.H. Adhikari said the association had held several rounds of talks with authorities without a favourable response, the Daily Mirror reported.
“Therefore, the CPPTOA decided to meet the Chairman of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) today. The Chairman assured us that a solution would be provided by this Friday,” Adhikari told reporters.
He said recent fuel price increases had sharply raised operating costs for bowsers, with prices of spare parts, tyres, tubes and servicing up by more than 50%. “These increased costs have made it extremely difficult for the association to continue fuel distribution services,” he said, adding that operators had absorbed rising costs to avoid disrupting supply but could no longer do so.
Several private bowsers have already stopped transporting fuel, contributing to queues at a number of filling stations, Adhikari said.
A fuller account, and a different reading of Friday
Newswire’s report names the body as the Ceylon Petroleum Private Bowser Owners’ Association — the same organisation under a “bowser” rather than “tanker” rendering — and describes a wider meeting: representatives of two bowser-operator associations plus an association representing filling-station owners met CPC officials.
Its account also differs on what the CPC Chairman promised. Where the Daily Mirror reports an assurance that a solution would be provided by Friday, Newswire says the Chairman told them a final round of discussions would be held on Friday, with formula changes expected to be implemented afterwards. The distinction matters: one is a deadline for a decision, the other a date for another meeting.
Newswire adds that talks have run for more than a year, that a proposal was submitted to the University of Moratuwa after consultations with the CPC, and that an agreement had initially been reached to amend the formula by December 31, 2025 for implementation from January 2026. It says nearly six rounds of discussions were held this year — in February, March, June and August — without resolution, and puts the rise in operators’ costs at an estimated 40% to 50%, against the Daily Mirror’s “more than 50%” for parts and servicing specifically.
One date to read carefully
The Daily Mirror’s copy renders the deadline as “Friday (25)” in both places it appears. September 25 was last Friday; the article was published on Monday, September 28, which places the Friday in question at October 2. The parenthetical appears to be an error, and Newswire gives no date alongside “Friday”. LankaNewz has used the day without a date.
Note also that similar disputes recur: earlier rounds involved a differently named Sri Lanka Petroleum Private Tanker Owners’ Association and a separate demand for a 25% haulage increase. This filing is distinct in its specifics — the Moratuwa-reviewed formula, the lapsed December 2025 deadline, and the Friday meeting with the CPC Chairman.
