Ostende and red diesel - BEWARE

The RYA are aware and it is also on their website. They have made representation but no response so far from Belgium.

Dutch boat called in to our marina last week to buy diesel, and they too had been fined in Belgium last week for red diesel. Dutch cruising associations are advising the Dutch not to go to Belgium also.

Quote from the RYA cruising news on the website

Update:

Following on from this request we have been notified that a group of three boats were each fined €500 in July 2017 in Nieuwpoort and two yachts were each fined €750 in July 2017 in Oostende. "
 
After chasing the Belgian Embassy, i have had a reply today


Dear sir,

Thank you for recent emails which we had received and had been looking into already to see how best to deal with this.

I understand the difficulty that you seemingly face, however, from my reading of your email there is a possibility of obtaining the correct marked fuel. Whilst this may not be easy to obtain, we are equally unable to change the rules which are seemingly imposed in terms of what type of fuel can be used.

We have come to the conclusion that the issue most likely falls under the competence of the “General Administration of Customs and Excise” (Algemene Administratie van Douane en Accijnzen) a department of the FPS Finance (Ministry of Finance).

We can only suggest that you initially try and contact them directly on info.douane@minfin.fed.be

(The alternative would be to direct your enquiry directly to the Cabinet (private office) of the Minister of Finance.)

With kind regards,

Christiaan Sys
Vice-Consul & Head of the Visa Section

Embassy of Belgium
17 Grosvenor Crescent
London
SW1X 7EE
Tel. 00 44 (0)20 7470 3700
Fax 00 44 (0)20 7470 3795

Website Embassy of Belgium
 
This was he reply to my email which I have reproduced below ( I have redacted personal details) - Short and to the point, but what are 'Union Waters' and no further information about why certain boats were targeted....

Dear Sir,

According to the Royal Decree of June 28th 2015, article 54, 2° states clearly that liquid motor fuels present, sold or used to drive an explosion or combustion engine of private pleasure crafts cannot contain any denaturates nor markers, on ilnad waterways or Union waters.

Sincerely,


Dienst PR&C - Communicatie AAD&A
Service RP&C - Communication AAD&A



Verzonden: vrijdag 14 juli 2017 15:39
Aan: Minfin Info Douane (MINFIN)
Onderwerp: Marked Diesel

Dear Sir
It is clear then that, in July, a number of British and Dutch leisure
boats in Belgium channel ports have received hefty fines for having
Marked Diesel in their tanks, some with only a trace.

What is also clear is that there is insufficient information about the
circumstances of the recent incidents. Upsetting the local Customs
personnel may be a factor but I reckon not.

If I fill my tank with Red Diesel and pay full duty in the UK and have a
receipt to prove it am I still committing an infringement of the rules
simply by having marked diesel in the tank. Were the fined boats unable
to produce receipts, or is there some other issue.....

As it is almost impossible to obtain unmarked diesel in UK Marinas, I
feel unable to visit Belgium by boat or for that matter any othe rmeans
Yours sincerely

Shotley
UK


Il est clair alors qu'en juillet, un certain nombre de bateaux de
plaisance britanniques et néerlandais dans les ports de la chaîne belge
ont reçu de lourdes amendes pour avoir marqué Diesel dans leurs
réservoirs, certains avec seulement une trace.

Ce qui est également clair, c'est qu'il n'y a pas suffisamment
d'informations sur les circonstances des incidents récents. Déplacer le
personnel douanier local peut être un facteur, mais je ne sais pas.

Si je remplis mon réservoir avec Red Diesel et que je paye un plein
devoir au Royaume-Uni et que je reçois un reçu pour le prouver, je suis
toujours en train de commettre une infraction aux règles simplement en
ayant un diesel marqué dans le réservoir. Les bateaux ayant reçu une
amende n'étaient-ils pas capables de produire des recettes, ou y a-t-il
un autre problème ...

Comme il est presque impossible d'obtenir un diesel non marqué dans les
Marinas britanniques, je me sens incapable de visiter la Belgique en
bateau ou, en fait, tout moyen
 
Hi
My friend was one if the boats fined. He explains that customs came on board with a card reader in hand cos they knew that a British flagged vessel would have traces of red. They confiscated passports first to ensure they had the upper hand. The skippers attitude was in no way a factor in them being fined.
I would say that avoiding Belgium at all costs is the only answer until this gets resolved, if that ever happens.
Shame.
 
I was told the other day (by a fisherman, make of that what you will) that the same tankers are used to deliver white and red diesel, and that they can be up to 4% of capacity prior to refilling - i.e. could contain 4% red and then fill up with white. Have to say I'm sceptical of that since you would think any DoT tests on vehicles would detect traces of red.
 
MikeBz said:
I was told the other day (by a fisherman, make of that what you will) that the same tankers are used to deliver white and red diesel, and that they can be up to 4% of capacity prior to refilling - i.e. could contain 4% red and then fill up with white. Have to say I'm sceptical of that since you would think any DoT tests on vehicles would detect traces of red.
Click to expand...

They do use the same tankers, not sure about 4% though.
 
sailorman said:
Bru may be able to qualify that, as he was head honcho at BP :encouragement:
Click to expand...

Ha! I wouldn't mind his money :)

I was a minor lackey :D

Not my area of expertise (we accepted deliveries and sold the stuff) but as far as I'm aware, they do not (routinely at least) deliver forecourt duty paid diesel in the same tanks (each tanker has between two and eight individual tanks) as marked rebated fuel

And they certainly don't leave up to 4% of the contents in the tanks! Each tank can be anything up to 8,000 litres capacity and they're not going to waste up to 300 plus litres of fuel! (Anything left in the tanks on return to the depot is recovered before the tanks are refilled unless the tank is going to be filled with the same product for the next delivery)

That applies at least to the mainstream forecourt deliveries, it might be a different matter when it comes to small local garages being supplied by their local general oil and fuel merchants
 
Reply from The CA to my correspondence with them
I am not a member but tried to give them our info


Hello Sailorman, Thank you for your emails and the Belgian replies.

This problem has existed for over four years. We contacted the Belgian authorities in 2013, and after some considerable discussion, which included visiting the Belgian Embassy and pointing out the likely effect on local marinas and restaurants, but got no official response. Following this however, we found that people visiting in 2015 and 2016 seem not to have had any real problems. One problem we did hear of was a yacht which had a fuel can with red diesel in it. They were fined. We can only assume that the onset of the Brexit discussions has triggered the present situation. The legality, or not, of UK yachts being able to use red diesel is a complicated subject, and as you may know, the Belgian Government has a case before the European Court of Justice on this. Regrettably, we believe it best not to visit Belgium if you have any trace of red diesel in your tanks.

Regards, John Lansdell, Chair of the Regulations and Technical Services Committee (RATS), of the Cruising Association
 
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