Gas vehicles in Yemen: time bombs that threaten lives and property

The number of cars and vehicles that use liquefied gas is increasing in the Yemeni city of Taiz, after their owners changed their specifications in special workshops that converted their systems from running on fuel to running on cheaper gas.

But these cars and vehicles turned into time bombs due to the failure of the work system conversion workshops, as well as gas filling stations, to adhere to the recognized safety and security standards, which caused a number of cars and vehicles to burn, leaving at least two dead and injured, and burning a large number of vehicles.

The price of a 20-litre gas cylinder in Taiz is 10,000 riyals, while the price of a 20-litre fuel cylinder is 30,000 riyals (one dollar equals 2,170 riyals), which makes a large number of transport vehicle drivers head to private workshops to convert the vehicle’s operating system.

“Using fuel vehicles to transport passengers is not economically feasible due to the high price of gasoline and diesel, so I converted the vehicle to a gas-powered system because the price of fuel is three times higher than the price of gas,” Salah Sufyan, a vehicle driver, told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed. “If the state reduces the price of fuel and makes it equal to the price of gas, we will commit to not converting the vehicle’s operating system to gas.”

With a number of drivers turning to the vehicle operating system, workshops have spread for this purpose, supervised by unqualified people who practice their work without adhering to safety standards and controls. Gas stations have also spread within residential neighborhoods, which poses a danger to residents in light of the increase in fire incidents in recent months.

Colonel Fouad Al-Masbahi, Director General of Civil Defense in Taiz, told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed: “The reasons for the fires of cars and vehicles that were converted to operate on the liquefied gas system are the random use of systems that do not meet the minimum required specifications, the disregard for safety measures in cars that operate on the liquefied gas system, and the lack of supervision over the installation of conversion systems to operate on gas, because this phenomenon is new and artificial due to the prevailing circumstances in the country.”

He added: "There is no doubt that the huge difference in price between petrol, diesel and liquefied gas has made people rush to change the car's operating system without realising that carrying out this work randomly could pose a great danger to their lives and the lives of the public."

He explains that "the gas stations spread throughout the city are time bombs, especially those located near markets, buildings, and government and private facilities, considering that the gas and the huge size of their tanks may cause very strong explosions. Eight incidents of gas systems catching fire in cars and vehicles have been reported, and there may be other incidents."

Al-Masbahi points out that “there are standards for gas-powered cars, including the supervision of a recognized manufacturing company over the conversion, which must be carried out according to the required specifications and standards, as well as the presence of qualified conversion workshops that have devices for inspection and installation, and inspection of the system before delivery in the presence of technicians from the Civil Defense Authority, in addition to installing an alarm system in the vehicle in the event of a gas leak or fire, and providing it with a fire extinguisher appropriate to the size of the system and the car.”

On November 10, the Yemeni Standards and Metrology Organization in Aden issued a circular prohibiting the entry of gas cylinders designated for cars and vehicles, except after obtaining the necessary licenses and approvals from the Yemeni Gas Company as the competent authority, and obligating workshops to obtain a license to practice the activity.

Source: Al-Araby Al-Jadeed