BSH 
kompakt 
31 
Analyse von Ölproben 
(Foto: Eckhard-Herbert Arndt, Fachjournalist) 
Analysis of oil samples 
(Photo: Eckhard-Herbert Arndt, technical journalist) 
Case solved: 
fines for environmental offences 
Effective protection of the marine environment is not 
limited to the monitoring of gradual, permanent 
changes in the natural habitat. One of our special 
tasks is to prosecute and impose penalties for envi 
ronmental offences which have directly endangered 
the marine environment. We prosecute those vio 
lations of national and international environmental 
regulations by shipping which constitute administra 
tive offences. We are dealing mainly with illegal 
discharges of oily residues, chemicals, sewage from 
ships, ship wastes, and failure to keep the oil and 
cargo record books properly, which are required to 
document, e.g., the disposal of residues from engine 
operations. Last year, we imposed penalties totalling 
DM 810,000 for 270 environmental offences. 50 of 
these cases concerned illegal discharge lines for oily 
residue bypassing the engine room control system. 
50 Fälle sogenannte „Bypässe“ - unzulässige Leitun 
gen, die Kontrollsysteme Im Maschinenraum umge 
hen und so das Illegale Einleiten von Ölrückständen 
ermöglichen. 
Ermittlungsarbeit: 
„Fingerabdruck“ überführt Umweltsünder 
Ölspuren In Nord- und Ostsee - trotz vermeintlich er 
drückender Bewelslage oftmals ein langwieriges ju 
ristisches Nachspiel, wenn die Verursacher alle 
Schuld von sich weisen. Im BSH-Labor wurde In 
mehrjähriger Entwicklungsarbeit ein Verfahren ent 
wickelt, das die eindeutige Identifizierung bzw. Zu 
ordnung einer Ölprobe zulässt - ein Individueller 
„Fingerabdruck“, mit dem sich Verursacher zweifels 
frei ermitteln lassen. Einzige Voraussetzung für die 
Überführung: eine Ölprobe auch aus dem Tank des 
potenziellen Umweltsünders, um diese In Ihrer chemi 
schen Zusammensetzung mit dem ausgelaufenen Öl 
Detective work: 
“finger print“ convicts polluters 
Oil slicks In the North Sea and Baltic Sea: even In the 
face of overwhelming evidence, polluters may delay 
legal proceedings endlessly by denying their respon 
sibility. Over a period of several years, the BSH has 
developed a method allowing oil samples, and thus 
polluters, to be identified with absolute reliability. All 
that is required is an oil sample from the suspected 
polluter’s tank. With our method, an individual “finger 
print“ of the sample is produced and compared to 
that of the oil slick, which allows polluters to be iden 
tified without any doubt. Our database meanwhile 
comprises the finger prints of over 1,700 samples. 
The BSH Is looking back on more than 950 cases 
worldwide, even as far as New Zealand, where its oil 
identification method has been used successfully In 
court proceedings - a success story that should 
deter any potential polluter.