Sniffing Fuel

[JK]

A new take on it. Sniffers detect if ships are using illegal fuel:

Denmark’s Environment and Food Ministry has reported five shipping lines to the police for violating the stricter requirements for ships’ emissions of sulfur.

“Control and enforcement of sulfur rules are important – both for our health, for the environment and to avoid unequal competition for law-abiding companies. The economic gain of cheating is great.

Therefore, we have put in with a reinforced control of sulfur in ship fuel, “said environmental and food minister Esben Lunde Larsen.

Checks are carried out by the Danish Maritime Authority on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency with oil samples taken from ships in Danish ports. The samples are analyzed to determine the content of sulfur. The controls are supplemented by aerial surveillance via a ‘sniffer’ that is installed on the Great Belt Bridge and on a small plane which can sniff out if ships in Danish waters are using illegal fuel.

Since January 2015 Danish authorities have taken and analyzed over 200 oil samples. As well as the five unspecified companies who have recently fallen foul of the ECA rulings, a sixth firm was reported to the police last year.

[Merlyn]

One up from sniffing lighter fuel I suppose.