Belgium, how red is red?

petehb said:
No I am not I am saying that from what we know everyone that has been inspected and found to have traces of dye has been fined we don't know if others have been inspected or not but I think it's reasonable to assume that are inspecting vessels at random.
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Forgetting for a moment whether this is random or targeted, but NO, YOU DO NOT KNOW THAT.

Are you stalking the Belgian customs? If you are, then I might be persuaded that your view of the world is correct. If you aren't, then you are just speculating.

Excuse me. I'm just going to hit my head against a wall.
 
sailorman said:
wot dont you understand about "marked " fuel
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Getting grumpy in your old age. Much of the marking changes in the last couple of years are an attempt to stop people over here laundering it and selling it as road fuel*. Although they claimed Tony Blair said they could do it.

In any event, I've seen what traces of red and green look like in white diesel. Much less obvious to visual inspection than traces of red.

*PS I've heard that Acetone is one of the chemicals they use if you want to experiment.
 
lpdsn said:
Getting grumpy in your old age. Much of the marking changes in the last couple of years are an attempt to stop people over here laundering it and selling it as road fuel. Although they claimed Tony Blair said they could do it.

In any event, I've seen what traces of red and green look like in white diesel. Much less obvious to visual inspection than traces of red.
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Where exactly is " over here"
 
Angele said:
Forgetting for a moment whether this is random or targeted, but NO, YOU DO NOT KNOW THAT.

Are you stalking the Belgian customs? If you are, then I might be persuaded that your view of the world is correct. If you aren't, then you are just speculating.

Excuse me. I'm just going to hit my head against a wall.
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I didn't say I knew that I said it was reasonable to assume. Just as you are making assumptions.
 
Many of you will be aware that HMRC do roadside checks of vehicles in the uk to see that they are not using red diesel in lieu of white. I am told that there are a lot carried out near the Tyne tunnel.
I contacted the HMRC to ask if there was a centre nearby where some of their staff operated ( so I could get some info) from but they refused to give me any details. It seems to me that they must have simple testing kits for doing this so I have being trying to find such a kit.

The reasoning being that if one thought that ones tank was clean then one could do a quick check prior to entering Belgian waters. I have actually asked the RYA if they could research such a possibility so that they could make kits available to us.
I am sure most yachtsmen would stump up £ 25-00 for a test to check that their fuel was clean of detectable traces of red rather than risk a fine. ( i admit that the level of detection is still up for debate but surely someone can find out)

So far I have found a laboratory that does such testing for the HMRC & the cost of a single test is £ 194-00. Unfortunately it seems they do not do an on site kit. However, as the HMRC do it on site something like a " litmus test" must be available as the HMRC certainly do not pay £ 194-00 every time & they do not send the fuel samples to a lab every time.
 
petehb said:
That is correct in terms of a vessel that docks in another territory you are obliged to follow their national laws but by convention fuel is ignored. However with respect to transiting a countries territorial waters countries by international law are obliged to give unhindered passage and one is not compelled to adhere to their national laws.
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You have got it, back of the net. Ive just been a cranky old man with a bee in his bonnet. :)
However, bottom line, they are being pretty stupid from the point of view of tourism and I remember when this came up a few years ago, they got bolshie and a letter was issued in several languages to explain to jobsworths if you got pulled what the situation was. I still have my copies on board. There was a post when it quietened down,by a Belgian guy, please come back we miss you! Well any one with any sense will not be going anywhere near now! And I repeat to those who say I dont like foreigners, its not the foreigners its jobsworths I dont like!
Stu
 
Daydream believer said:
Many of you will be aware that HMRC do roadside checks of vehicles in the uk to see that they are not using red diesel in lieu of white. I am told that there are a lot carried out near the Tyne tunnel.
I contacted the HMRC to ask if there was a centre nearby where some of their staff operated ( so I could get some info) from but they refused to give me any details. It seems to me that they must have simple testing kits for doing this so I have being trying to find such a kit.

The reasoning being that if one thought that ones tank was clean then one could do a quick check prior to entering Belgian waters. I have actually asked the RYA if they could research such a possibility so that they could make kits available to us.
I am sure most yachtsmen would stump up £ 25-00 for a test to check that their fuel was clean of detectable traces of red rather than risk a fine. ( i admit that the level of detection is still up for debate but surely someone can find out)

So far I have found a laboratory that does such testing for the HMRC & the cost of a single test is £ 194-00. Unfortunately it seems they do not do an on site kit. However, as the HMRC do it on site something like a " litmus test" must be available as the HMRC certainly do not pay £ 194-00 every time & they do not send the fuel samples to a lab every time.
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Here you go: http://www.rofa-praha.cz/files/Instrum/Petrospec/DT-100C/DT-100C_L.pdf this was the first one on a page from a google search there are plenty if yo wish to go down that route.
 
lpdsn said:
Doesn't detect green it seems. :)
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We filled up in France somewhere on the way to Portugal and the diesel was that funny greenish flourescent colour that can appear orange. I said to Lau, someone could say we are using Irish marked diesel!
S
 
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