Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam on Tuesday declared a state of emergency as the Colonial Pipeline, which transports a significant amount of gasoline to the East Coast, remained offline following a ransomware attack.
Northam said the decision was made to address any potential gasoline supply disruptions since the Colonial Pipeline is the primary fuel source for many Virginia retailers.
As previously reported by FOX Business, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper made a similar call in his state on Monday.
An emergency declaration has been issued by the Department of Transportation covering 17 states as a result of the situation.
The pipeline, which transports a large amount of gasoline from Texas to the Northeast, was offline as of Tuesday with the expectation that it could be back up and running later this week.
It transports 100 million gallons of fuel each day, including 45% if all fuel consumed on the East Coast. Its products range from various grades of gasoline, diesel fuel, home heating oil, jet fuel, and fuels for the U.S. military.
The FBI on Monday confirmed that it was a ransomware attack carried out by criminals belonging to the group known as DarkSide.
Upon learning that it had been targeted by ransomware, Colonial Pipeline said that it took certain systems offline to contain the threat.
On Monday night, Line 4, which runs from Greensboro, North Carolina, to Woodbine, Maryland, was temporarily operating under manual control while existing inventory is available, the company said.
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