Being 'moved on' by authorities if Vessel is not Sea Worthy = possible or not ?

[Capt Popeye]

Might I ask if anyone has personal experience of being 'moved on' by Authorities when their Vessel was not considered to be Sea Worthy ?

As I am currently reading up on a Canal System (UK) and there is a clause in the Management briefings that appears to state that a Vessel that is not Sea Worthy should not be 'moved on' as the Authority has a Duty of Care over anyone using their Canal systems. So that 'moving on' could be seen as defaulting in the Authorities 'Duty of Care' so not legal

This is in respect to staying longer that authorised to on a mooring

 

[jordanbasset]

I believe the regulations are shown here
https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/media/original/633.pdf
If a boat is licensed without a home mooring it must move on a regular basis. This Guidance seeks to explain in day to day terms the nature of the movement that must take place....14 days or such longer period as is reasonable in the circumstances”
Circumstances where it is reasonable to stay in one neighbourhood or locality for longer than 14 days are where further movement is prevented by causes outside the reasonable control of the boater. Examples include temporary mechanical breakdown preventing cruising until repairs are complete, emergency navigation stoppage, impassable ice or serious illness (for which medical evidence may be required). Such reasons should be made known immediately to local Trust enforcement staff with a request to authorise a longer stay at the mooring site or nearby. The circumstances will be reviewed regularly
and reasonable steps (where possible) must be taken to remedy the cause of the longer stay – eg repairs put in hand where breakdown is the cause. Where difficulties persist and the boater is unable to continue the cruise, the Trust reserves the right
to charge mooring fees and to require the boat to be moved away from popular temporary or visitor moorings until the cruise can recommence'

So it looks like you can stay if your vessel is 'not seaworthy' provided you notify the authorities and take reasonable measures to remedy the situation.

 

[Tranona]

This is a contentious issue and unique to CRT because of the rules on Continuous Cruising. Has been the subject of several court cases, reported and discussed at length here. There is no general rule that can be applied in other situations. The CRT has problems enforcing its rules, partly because its predecessor BWB failed to control casual mooring on the canals which resulted in many people living on decrepit boats. CRT introduced the CC category to provide flexibility for those who do not have a permanent mooring, but it is abused by many. As suggested above if you add in the additional problems of weather flooding, closures etc there are many opportunities for some to exploit the rules and CRT has to be mindful of not appearing to victimise people in difficult circumstances.

 

[duncan99210]

As Tranona says this is an ongoing saga with CRT (and to a lesser extent the EA). It's not so much a case of "unseaworthy" per se but being unable to move. There have been one or two cases where CRT took court action which resulted in an overstaying boat being seized by CRT and physically removed during from their waters (taken to a boat yard and lifted out) usually after a protracted period of inaction from the boat owner.
The duty of care argument has been used by some, with limited success, where Ill health or onset of disability has prevented the boat owner from moving on in accordance with the normal rules. Often the individual concerned has been offered (at a cost) a permanent mooring, thus meeting the duty of care requirement but has then refused the offer, leading to further enforcement action.
The whole thing is a bit of a nightmare, as there is increasing pressure from people seeking a cheaper alternative to land based housing. Too many of these people seek to moor their boats on a more or less permanent basis at what are intended as short stay public moorings. This leads to a conflict of interest between those seeking to use the canals as waterways, moving from point a to point b with those seeking to use them as a home in a single location....

 

[Bru]

CRT introduced the CC category to provide flexibility for those who do not have a permanent mooring,.

Minor point of detail. The CC category was added at the last minute to the consolidation legislation brought in on behalf of British Waterways, well before the Trust was formed to take over the duties of British Waterways