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The British Marine Federation (BMF) continued to express its views on the Fuel Quality Directive Transposition, on behalf of the leisure and small commercial marine industry, at a meeting held yesterday, Wednesday 29 September, by the Department for Transport (DfT).

The directive introduces a requirement that, from 1 January 2011, all gas oil (red diesel) used in “non-road mobile machinery (NRMM)”, ‘inland waterway vessels’ and recreational craft when not at sea will have to contain no more than 10 milligrams of sulphur per kilogram of fuel, ie. virtually sulphur free.

Commenting on the directive in a statement, the BMF said "This means that gas oil sold for use in inland shipping vessels and recreational craft operating on inland waterways must be sulphur free by 1 January 2011. However, regulations on the sulphur content of gas oil used in sea-going vessels are not changing. It is not anticipated that suppliers of fuel for sea-going marine operations will switch to sulphur free gas oil, which may contain up to 7% bio fuel, however users may wish to check this with their fuel suppliers nearer the time."

The meeting yesterday discussed the classification for the definitions of ‘sea-going’ and ‘inland waterway’ areas as there are a number of different interpretations.

The DfT team will take the responses from all stakeholders questioned, including that of the BMF, to the policy committee for discussion at the end of October. The final consultation and decision will then be made by the Minister by the end of November.

The ultimate decision will be decided on feedback from the industry and stakeholders as well as legal interpretation by government lawyers.

"The BMF will continue to work on behalf of the industry and will update members as and when news emerges. There are a number of storage and compatibility issues with bio-fuel and the BMF will work with members over the coming months to help them adjust to these new requirements," the BMF said.