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Red dieselAttention, control!

Pascal Schürmann

 · 11.03.2026

Red diesel: Attention, control!Photo: Mauritius/Alamy/C. D. Obertas
Recreational skippers who fill up with red diesel are liable to prosecution in this country
Customs are also on the trail of tax evaders on the water. In addition to commercial shipping, officials are increasingly targeting pleasure craft and yachts. Although there are not yet many leisure skippers on the water, one skipper has already been caught with red diesel in his tank.

A few days ago, officers from Kiel's main customs office discovered around 5,000 litres of tax-privileged fuel in the tank of a motor yacht in Kiel harbour. Due to the unauthorised use of the gas oil, the customs officers initiated criminal tax proceedings and set the energy tax to be paid retrospectively at over 4,800 euros.

The customs officers inspected the foreign-flagged vessel at Tiessenkai in Kiel-Holtenau. The 39-year-old German skipper stated that he was transporting the motor yacht to southern Europe on behalf of a company.

Red colouring makes it easier to track down tax evaders

During the inspection, the emergency services took a sample from the fuel tank. They noticed the clear red colouring. "The red colour is no coincidence: tax-privileged gas oil is deliberately dyed so that it is immediately recognisable during inspections. This fuel is only intended for certain purposes and may not be used in motor yachts," explains Gabriele Oder, spokeswoman for the main customs office in Kiel.

Criminal tax proceedings were initiated against the skipper on suspicion of tax evasion. The energy tax was paid on the spot and the heating oil was left on board until the ship was re-exported.

Increased controls with the start of the water sports season

"Customs inspections don't just affect commercial shipping. Pleasure craft and motor yachts can also have tax-relevant goods on board - that's why our customs officers also take a close look in the harbours," Gabriele Oder continues. And this will obviously increase in the coming weeks. The main customs office says that with the start of the water sports season, there will also be more checks on pleasure craft and yachts in the harbours.

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Also interesting:

Red diesel is a tax-privileged or tax-exempt fuel. In Germany, it is only sold for certain favoured uses, for example in commercial shipping.

For better control, this fuel is coloured red so that customs officials can quickly distinguish it from regularly taxed diesel. If tax-privileged fuel is used illegally, customs will levy the energy tax retrospectively and will also consider criminal or fine proceedings against the skipper.

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Pascal Schürmann

Pascal Schürmann

Editor YACHT

Pascal Schürmann joined YACHT in Hamburg in 2001. As head of copywriting and head of the editorial team, he makes sure that all articles make it into the magazine on time and that they are both informative and entertaining to read. He was born in the Bergisches Land region near Cologne. He learned how to handle the tiller and sheet as a teenager in a touring dinghy on the Sneeker Meer and on a tall ship on the IJsselmeer. During and after his studies, he sailed on the Baltic Sea and in the Mediterranean. As a trained business journalist, he is also responsible for boat financing and yacht insurance reports at YACHT, but also has a soft spot for blue water topics.

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