[attach id=406914 size="medium"]A yellow Liquigas cylinder, repainted grey.[/attach]

Gas provider Liquigas Malta yesterday filed a judicial protest claiming its competitor, Easygas, had violated property rights and breached safety regulations.

The company said it had filed the protest after it noted how its green and yellow cylinders were being painted dark grey, filled by Easygas and placed on the market as Easygas cylinders.

It said that over the past months, it filed several complaints with the Malta Resources Authority (MRA), which on its part issued a cease and desist order to Easygas to stop it from repainting the cylinders and to return them to Liquigas as their rightful owner.

In a statement, Liquigas pointed out that traceability of individual cylinders was necessary to ensure safety in dealing with pressure equipment being used in the carriage of inflammable products, such as gas cylinders. Liquigas added that each cylinder was individually certified and therefore the ownership of the cylinder could be identified.

It said it was suffering damages because of Easygas’s behaviour, including the cost of having to repaint its cylinders in its own distinctive green and yellow and reinsert its own distinctive markings.

Liquigas complained to the MRA, which issued a cease and desist order to prevent repainting of the cylinders and to have them returned

The company recalled that in November 2011, it discovered that Easygas was sending Liquigas cylinders to Salerno, Italy, to have them repainted dark grey but the cylinders were released by the Italian authorities back to Liquigas.

In November 2013, video evidence was produced showing Easygas filling Liquigas green and yellow cylinders. MRA had sealed off the illegal cylinder filling equipment.