Cootes Transport loses Shell trucking contract following fatal crash Safety investigators found Cootes Transport trucks had 'major defects'. The Victorian trucking company involved in a fatal fuel tanker crash in Sydney's northern beaches late last year has lost a major contract to supply Shell petrol stations across the country. Cootes Transport, a division of the Mark Rowsthorn-chaired McAleese, advised the market on Thursday that it had been unsuccessful in tendering for the contract, which is due to expire at the end of June. Cootes, which is the country's largest fuel trucking group, has also told 7-Eleven that it will terminate its NSW and Queensland fuel transportation contract at the end of June because of ""poor profitability"." Shares in McAleese slumped more than 11 per cent to $1.355 on Thursday after the company revealed that it had lost the contracts. Fatal crash Two people were killed and five injured when a fuel tanker from Cootes lost control on a bend in the northern Sydney suburb of Mona Vale and burst into flames on October 1. The loss of the contracts has forced McAleese, which was listed on the ASX late last year, to begin a restructure of the Cootes business, including transferring staff to other parts of the business. McAleese said in a statement that it would ""explore opportunities for impacted staff to transition to other employment roles"" within the group. The transport company derives about $92.5 million a year from the three contracts, which represents about 60 per cent of its fuel transportation revenues. McAleese said it expects to incur the costs of the restructure next financial year. The company faced extra scrutiny late last year after initial repairs to Cootes trucks allowed them to be pressed back into service but failed to pick up and fix the underlying cause of the defects. Major defects NSW authorities told McAleese about their ""ongoing concern that major defects continue to be identified through the inspection process"." The defects found included ineffective brakes, oil and fuel leaks, steering, axle, suspension and exhaust failures, broken engine mounts and tread peeling from tyres. Roads and Maritime Services began an inspection of about a third of Cootes" NSW fleet - 111 trucks and trailers - in early November. It had earlier made random and targeted inspections of Cootes" trucks. In a supplementary prospectus in November, McAleese put the cost of the Mona Vale accident and subsequent review of its fleet maintenance at almost $11 million. It will also increase its annual spending on repairs and maintenance by $3.5 million.