Marine Lien

[gonfishing]

Hi All
Sometime or other,in the future the situation will arise where a customer cannot or will not pay for work carried out on a boat, assuming there is no dispute over services or goods,and the account is due, how would you apply a Lien on a boat, andhow is it registered or applied???
Just as importantly if there is a lien on a boat how do you find out? and more importantly how do you get it removed ??

cheers
Julian

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[MidlandsOnSea]

It's been many years since I was involved in this stuff, so don't take this reply as advice - just a bit of rough guidance to get you started. I don't say this merely to cover my back...it really has been a good few years since I had anything to do with shipping law and my memory dissipates faster than fuel on a mobo.

A repairers lien is generally exercised by keeping possession of the object repaired - like a garage that won't give your car back until you've paid for the work. This is the most common form of lien. It does mean you need to have possession of the boat.

A maritime lien is something different. As I recall, there were certain types of legal claim that are recognised in law as giving rise to a maritime lien on vessels, and I think a claim for money owed for repairs is one of them. The others are things like salvage claims, laibility for collisions etc. This type of lien is exercised by arresting the vessel, which means the owner cannot use it until the lien is discharged or until 'security' is gven (i.e. a deposit). Arresting a vessel is something you do with the help of the Admiralty court and you will need specialist advice. If you get it wrong, expect a compensation claim to be heading your way. It's the sort of things which might be covered by the legal expense insurance section of the yacht insurance. So, you could end up in a legal bunfight with an owner who is having his legal fees paid by an insurance company - which isn't a nice place to be.

The problem with all these sorts of rights is that the owner may well raise some kind of counterclaim based on allegations of bad repairs etc, even if just as a defensive move.

If the owner of the boat is a company, rather than an individual, and if there is absolutely no reason for the owner to refuse payment, you might want to look into something called a Statutory Demand for Payment. Again, you would need legal help, but it shouldn't cost a fortune (assuming you don't call an hour or so of legal advice a fortune).

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[MidlandsOnSea]

Oops, forgot to answer the last bit of your question...

The nasty thing about a maritime line is that it stays with the boat, even if it's sold. That means it's bad news if you buy a boat which transpires to have a lien on it. No, they're not generally registered - not least 'cos the yacht itself may not be registered. This is why you should make sure that the agreement for purchase of yacht includes not just the usual documents of title but preferably also a warranty to the effect that the yacht is sold free from encumbrances. It won't get rid of the lien, but at least it gives you a chance to sue the previous owner. It's also one of the reasons why they say you should check that the last owner didn't owe money to the local boat yeard and marina (unpaid harbour dues also attract maritime liens as I recall).

How do you get rid of the lien? Well, er, you pay the debt it secures.

Arresting ships is quite fun if you're in that line of work...but I guess that's not what you wanted to hear.

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[jhr]

Also watch out for tell-tell signs of a lien, such as an Admiralty Court warrant nailed/otherwise attached to the mast (no, really; I have seen them myself..............)

<hr width=100% size=1>Je suis Marxiste - tendance Groucho

 

[mjf]

Yes, good oh!

Esp on late Friday afternoon of a bank holiday w/e when the delay to the owner is greatest and he has been mucking you about ref payment.
The banks are closed so he cannot get a G'tee or LOI to cover whatever G'tee the owners P&I Club agrees....... and on and on it goes.

Lawyers make a fortune



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[andyball]

afaik, if you have an appropriate claim against a boat, you apply to the commercial court, admiralty division & can have the boat arrested.


Spoke to them once over a hot-air threat of arrest on a friend's (honest ,not mine !) boat & the clerk laughed at the suggestion that someone would bother for (say) £500....since the court/arrest fees would exceed that. Seems it was possible, but no-one did.

Try a search of the <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.courtservice.gov.uk/Search.do?query=admiralty> court service </A> for admiralty or admiralty court

also here

remember that some local courts had admiralty divisions, but the laughing clerk said the case would only be referred to London anyway.



Same friend did actually get a warrant fixed to the mast as jhr mentions, but over another matter (collision damage)
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[Gludy]

I know someone who went to the County Court and had to tell them they were the court that dealt with arresting a boat - the cost was £30 odd pound and he did have the boat arrested.
It can be done fairly cheaply. This arrest took place in Falmouth.

<hr width=100% size=1>Paul

 

[andyball]

Ah, shows how much the admiralty court clerk knew ....£30 seems very cheap as court fees go.

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[Gludy]

My friend who did it had to point the court to the law - they did not even know they had any powers to arrest a ship - it made the local radio and TV news because the whole idea of arresting a ship was novel.

He did it because the ship was about to leave without paying its repair bills to a friend of his.

It all worked. and the repair bills were paid.

The charge was the same as taking out a County Court Summons.



<hr width=100% size=1>Paul