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Red diesel price claims ‘alarmist’
01 Feb 2007
Claims that the loss of the UK’s derogation on red diesel could see the price of fuel double are, says Ancasta, alarmist.
So the company set about producing statistics that should ease boaters’ concerns and came up with figures that reveal the average boat engine has 60 hours use a year.
According to Ancasta, if red diesel is doubled the added cost for an average use will be £2,601, including VAT. For a sailboat, it’s nearer £216 a year.
‘Looking at the figures as a worst case,’ said Ashley Overton, Ancasta’s sales director, ‘this increase is not particularly significant when compared to increases in mooring, provisioning, annual maintenance and even the overall purchase price.’
I don’t think anyone is not going to buy or use their dream boat, which could have cost around £150,000, because of an increase of around £2,000 per annum, he added.
● BB spoke to the BMF’s Howard Pridding for an update on the red diesel situation only to find out nothing has changed. Pridding is in talks with HMRC but told us: ‘The cost of diesel cannot change until a Finance Bill is enacted and that won’t happen before July at the absolute earliest.’
