An Algerian ship carrying urgently needed fuel for Lebanon has arrived, acting Energy Minister Walid Fayad says.

He said the tanker, carrying 30,000 metric tonnes of fuel, had arrived off the coast of the Tripoli oil facilities in northern Lebanon.

The vessel was anchored offshore near the oil storage tanks, delivering a gift from the Algerian government to assist Lebanon in operating its power plants.

Mr Fayad said it was hoped Lebanon’s main power plants would be operational by Thursday, and the electricity supply was expected to increase from four hours to six hours per day.

In the crisis-stricken country on the Mediterranean, the last functioning power plant was shut down in mid-August due to a lack of fuel.

The state-owned energy supplier, Electricité du Liban, said the drastic step was taken “due to the complete exhaustion” of fuel reserves.

This led to a total failure of the state’s electricity supply throughout the country.

Even before the latest emergency, the government has struggled to provide long-term electricity supplies for decades.

Much of the country bridges the regular outages using diesel generators.

The electricity situation has worsened since a massive economic crisis began in 2019.

Electricity from the state utility has come at irregular intervals and is sometimes only available for two hours daily. 

(dpa/NAN)