Old Harry
Well-known member
Here in Blighty, we are reportedly going over to white soon, so why not change before you go, then you will not need to carry receipts, or miss out on the delights Belgium has to offer
Here in Blighty, we are reportedly going over to white soon, so why not change before you go, then you will not need to carry receipts, or miss out on the delights Belgium has to offer
I think you are, over thinking the issue, even here on the road there is a % error allowedit’s not changing over to white which bothers me, I was already planning to do that before the trip. it’s the fact that they can apparently just glimpse at your filter bowl, declare it to be a bit stained pinkish and hand out an on the spot fine with zero evidence that concerns me!
I was in Oostende in May and had a visit from Belgium Customs. It was all very friendly. They asked permission to come aboard for a documentation check and an obligatory fuel check. All my documentation was spot on and they departed without mentioning the fuel again. There were two teams, the other visited one of our friends boats, and both had a large backpack. As nothing came out of it on either of the two boats, we assumed it to be a fuel testing kit. I should add, both boats had been run on white diesel for at least two years before the trip, so we were totally relaxed about the visit.
The conservative lunatics will have settled their internal conflictThanks. I’ve also found this statement by the Cruising Association which states that the fines are still suspended. Although God knows what will happen after 31 Jan! ?
https://www.theca.org.uk/system/files/The Use of Marine Red Diesel by Pleasure Craft When In EU Maritime State Waters June 2019.pdf
I think you are, over thinking the issue, even here on the road there is a % error allowed
Dennis - the last official news that I'm aware of said that Belgian authorities weren't enforcing red diesel bans on UK registered leisure boats. This has certainly been borne out by me and others who have sailed every year to Belgium. We have often been met on the pontoon by polite immigration police officers who have checked our passports and have taken a cursory look around the boat. No one has ever dipped our tank or asked anything about fuel.
Can't say what impact Brexit will have of course. You (and we) will be travelling next presumably from a non-EU country and I don't know what the rules are or if they will change...
Taxation. The Europeans were not happy that we used to get diesel for leisure much cheaper.Forgive my ignorance but what is the difference between red diesel and white diesel
I wasnt aware I would answer a such old discussion. But I really always thought that the red and the white are the same thing except that one got red dye for some reason?Taxation. The Europeans were not happy that we used to get diesel for leisure much cheaper.
Nowadays marina prices for red have been more than forecourt white
No worries. Im not getting into politics. I live a happier life since I became ignorant to "what happens in the world around me". I care about me, my friends, my girls, my next stop and my boat - and thats about it.
Anyways. Red Diesel is nothing different, it just has lower taxes on it to make working peoples lives easier, right? White diesel is just for regular cars and a luxury, hence more expensive because its not a necessity, red diesel is cheaper because it is used for machines and not personal comfort. And the entire thing left a sour taste in the EUs mouth because they lost a lot of money over boaties being allowed to use the commercial diesel.
I thought it was an environmental cause at some point.
The fact that they have red dieseljust for commercial use without,or lesser, taxes seems a little weird considering how things normally work. Interesting topic though. Everydays a schoolday.
Anyways. Red Diesel is nothing different, it just has lower taxes on it to make working peoples lives easier, right?
Marine red tends not to have FAME in it, which white does. FAME reputedly not really a good thing for marine use, though Europe seems to get along with it ok.
Marine diesel (gas oil) sold on tidal waters is/should be FAME-free; that sold on non-tidal/inland waters will contain FAME.Unless it's specifically marketed as FAME free MDO (marine diesel oil) it will potentially, indeed probably, have FAME in it.