Oct. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Colonial Pipeline Co., the world's largest operator of petroleum-product pipelines, said a pipeline that carries fuel into the U.S. Northeast is shut after a contractor damaged the line earlier today.

The 30-inch line, the only Colonial line carrying fuels including gasoline and diesel from Greensboro, North Carolina, to Linden, New Jersey, was shut around noon today, Steve Baker, a company spokesman, said in a telephone interview.

To contact the reporter on this story: Robert Tuttle in New York at rtuttle@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: October 3, 2008 16:10 EDT