Boat Owners Protecting Fuel Tanks
As the price of fuel increases well documented cases of recent fuel theft from buses, farms tanks and haulage vehicles are focusing the minds of boating business to come up with solutions to protect the fuel tanks on all types of boats.
In the U.K. boat owners seeing the price of the red diesel increase in line with other petro-fuels are already bracing themselves for further increases. From November 1st 2008 the U.K. falls into fuel duty alignment with the European Union and ceases the derogation of red diesel for propulsion onboard private boats. In addition the British government has taken the initiative to add the full duty of about GBP 0.55p per litre where the European Union suggests GBP 0.21 per litre. The value of the fuel in the tank is set to nearly double, so why not invest in new deterrents?
One such device is called ‘Fuellock’
Advantages
· Lessens the risk of attracting thefts of fuel from craft which are left unattended.
· Insurance companies tend to treat fuel as a consumable item. This means boaters are not usually covered for thefts of fuel.
· Colour coded lids lessen the risk of wrong fuel into tanks e.g. Diesel and Petrol.
· Water tanks locks are also available and since coded in different colours prevent further cross contamination between fuel and water.
· Retailing at GBP 34.99 plus P&P for one fuellock it becomes a relatively inexpensive method of protecting the fuel tank.
Disadvantages
· Can only be retrofitted to any boat whose deck fittings use the popular 1 ½ inch BSP thread. Check your deck fittings.
· Can any fuellock be 100% secure against the determined criminal?
Conclusion
In the U.K. summer of 2008 for 1,000 litres of red diesel the cost is around GBP 750 and for leisure marine users it is set to rise above GBP 1350 from November 01st . Providing retrofit is possible it seems a small investment over the long term to protect ones fuel tank from theft and limit the risk of cross contamination..