4 
Preliminary Remarks 
This contribution is based on experience which Bundesamt ftir Seeschifffahrt und 
Hydrographie (BSH, Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency of Germany) has gained in 
the identification of oil spills in the past 25 years. Some of the following findings are 
empirical. They are based on nearly 1,000 cases in which, within the framework of criminal 
proceedings, oil pollution samples were compared with samples taken from suspected sources 
of pollution. 
The raw data of more than 10,000 gas-chromatograms and mass-chromatograms obtained 
from different oil spill samples, light fuel oils, heavy fuel oils, lubricating oils, ships' bilge 
and sludge samples have been stored in a database on a single personal computer. 
Furthermore, this database includes the corresponding data of 260 crude oils from all over the 
world. 
Characteristic examples thus could be easily chosen, and the various figures of this chapter 
could be rapidly produced. 
The identification scheme itself, given below, has been converted to a computer programme. 
This programme proved to be valid for all samples in the database. 
A indicates general remarks, hints, tips, precautions.