Hello Dirk, sadly Peter is right. The starboard cover is for storage (under the seats), the port side giver access to beneath the cockpit sole. The tank is not very accessible, and certainly on Nosey there is no access port. The reason Peter had a hole cut on the side (not intuitive) is because the top of the fuel tank is tight against the cockpit sole.
It's even possible that the tank was installed before the deck was fitted. Certainly on Nosey, because it was having a new engine, and it does, as Peter says, make for peace of mind, I had the tank removed and cleaned. See before and after pictures. (The plastic pipe in the picture was in the tank - it obviously fell in, like the other bits and pieces). It did mean some joinery and glass work around the hatch in your picture to get the tank in and out. Just 5mm difference!
I've always known that in a good head sea the content of my tank could get stirred up and block the filters and it was not a nice feeling - it did happen to a friend of mine, luckily it didn't make for any drama.
Good Sailing,
John
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