Unlawful detention by a marina - locked in!

[Refueler]

I had to look that one up! Apparently in UK liens only to wages and salvage (and bottomry - but I daren't look that one up to find out what it means - I am sure Refueler can enlighten us all)

No way .. I'm not opening that can of worms !!

But Lien is a common thing in Shipping world .... but not something to talk about here.

 

[Mark-1]

The boat wasn't really detained - the lock keeper simply refused to provide a service for the OP until it had been paid for. For him to have been prevented from leaving a marina where he could just sail away would have been a different matter - and almost certainly illegal. Yes marinas etc can "arrest" a vessel but they need to go through a formal process to do so.

There must be a definitive legal answer to this. It seems unlikely to me that a vessel can be held hostage in these circumstances but it seems equally unlikely that a lock is obliged to operate - as others mention locks don't have to be 24 hours. (And what if a sea lock refused to open for a boat in the UK canal waterways - would it be argued that the boat was being held hostage in the entire inland waterways - no chance - so why would the area of water being smaller make a difference?)

I'm not sure how to square that circle.

 

[ylop]

Car fuel. Plod.
Driving an fairly distinctive vehicle and towing a boat, on "private plates", I filled up with fuel at a Shell station on an A road near Gloucester. "Paid" using the Shell app (in vehicle, on phone, at pump - safety yes i know, but their app/methodology!), i drove off...

Interesting I had a similar experience with the BP app but I just got a letter in the post a few weeks later (which I initially got indignant about but soon backed down when I found no payment had left my account). I then immediately went to the service station with my tail between my legs, super appologetic. They were really nice about it and said it happens “all the time”. There wasn’t even an admin fee or service charge.

 

[samfieldhouse]

Just call up and pay in advance?

 

[lustyd]

the user doean't want to stump up the tenner then anchor!

Unfortunately in many cases a perfectly good free anchorage is filled with moorings that are expected to be paid for. I resent paying when someone robs me of the chance to anchor for free. I prefer to anchor.

 

[GEM43]

Unfortunately in many cases a perfectly good free anchorage is filled with moorings that are expected to be paid for. I resent paying when someone robs me of the chance to anchor for free. I prefer to anchor.

Yes, that’s annoying, but thankfully not a scenario that I have seen yet in the West of Scotland.

 

[Alex_Blackwood]

Interesting I had a similar experience with the BP app but I just got a letter in the post a few weeks later (which I initially got indignant about but soon backed down when I found no payment had left my account). I then immediately went to the service station with my tail between my legs, super appologetic. They were really nice about it and said it happens “all the time”. There wasn’t even an admin fee or service charge.

Interestingly, on BBC news last night a case of a woman being taken to court for not paying for car parking within the allotted time. She claims couldn't get a phone signal. They say "Tough" Sorry haven't got all the details. Just found :-
Parking fines: Woman faces £1,906 bill over five-minute payment rule
It appears to me that a great number of these "Smart IT" systems which are supposed to make life more efficient, just don't work.

 

[pauldowrick]

Just call up and pay in advance?

I am the op. Medical needs forced an unscheduled stop. Your suggestion was not possible on that day.