Yacht abandoned on our mooring

[Stingray49]

We sold 4 out of the 5, the 5th swinging mooring had no buyer much to our surprise ( £ 100 per mooring + £ 85 to crown estates all maintenance to be done by buyer ) so as the fee to the crown estates was about due , we agreed with them to drop the mooring and not pay any fee. It was an absolute bargain a mooring for £100 for life ! But l suppose the luxury of a marina must be more appealing.

 

[Jcorstorphine]

We sold 4 out of the 5, the 5th swinging mooring had no buyer much to our surprise ( £ 100 per mooring + £ 85 to crown estates all maintenance to be done by buyer ) so as the fee to the crown estates was about due , we agreed with them to drop the mooring and not pay any fee. It was an absolute bargain a mooring for £100 for life ! But l suppose the luxury of a marina must be more appealing.

Afraid to say luxuary of marina may be ending as thinking of buying bigger boat, wonder if I could locate no 5 and buy it.

 

[Stingray49]

John , will have to get back to you on this one, what size and weight of yacht ? Will be at the I.B.O.A. boatyard on Friday and Tuesdays for contact.
Ron

 

[Jcorstorphine]

John , will have to get back to you on this one, what size and weight of yacht ? Will be at the I.B.O.A. boatyard on Friday and Tuesdays for contact.
Ron

Will PM you. Thanks.

 

[Stingray49]

Update.....the abandoned yacht broke away from the mooring and ended up on the beach without damage . A local firm called Coastworks who operate tugs and barges have claimed salvage and have refloated the yacht and towed it back to their base in Fairlie Marina. Does anyone know the legal position with this case ? Surely a company cannot just claim salvage ?

 

[Capt. Clueless]

Update.....the abandoned yacht broke away from the mooring and ended up on the beach without damage . A local firm called Coastworks who operate tugs and barges have claimed salvage and have refloated the yacht and towed it back to their base in Fairlie Marina. Does anyone know the legal position with this case ? Surely a company cannot just claim salvage ?

If this is the boat that caused yo so much grief, why would you be bothered about the salvage claim? I'd have thought you wouldn't give a toss?

 

[jac]

Update.....the abandoned yacht broke away from the mooring and ended up on the beach without damage . A local firm called Coastworks who operate tugs and barges have claimed salvage and have refloated the yacht and towed it back to their base in Fairlie Marina. Does anyone know the legal position with this case ? Surely a company cannot just claim salvage ?

Anyone can claim salvage. It comes down to the court to decide what the reward is in such a case but if the boat was basically abandoned by the owner and then went ashore then he / she has little defence to say that the salvors actions were of minimal assistance only. It will also depend on the value that the salvors saved and the costs / risks incurred by them.

 

[Stingray49]

Yes , this is the yacht that caused us so much grief, and we certainly not interested in any salvage etc. We just interested in what are salvage rights , evidently their is a saying if a boat is washed up and you tie it up with a rope you can claim salvage rights unless owner comes forward with proof of ownership. Anyone heard of this ?

 

[dslittle]

Yes , this is the yacht that caused us so much grief, and we certainly not interested in any salvage etc. We just interested in what are salvage rights , evidently their is a saying if a boat is washed up and you tie it up with a rope you can claim salvage rights unless owner comes forward with proof of ownership. Anyone heard of this ?

I think that they can claim salvage rights even if the owner comes forward. In fact the lack of an owner might even prolong proceedings. As it goes, I think that they are welcome to it and everyone is happy...

 

[ylop]

There is a misunderstanding with what "claiming salvage" means. It doesn't automatically mean you one the boat. However maritime law recognises that if you render assistance to others in difficult circumstances you deserve to be rewarded for it. The salvage payment will take account of various things like the risk involved, the need for complex equipment or skills, the value of the property saved, risk to the environment if it was left etc. Ultimately a court can determine what is fair payment if the owner and salvor can't agree. The salvor, having a legitimate debt associated with the vessel can hold the boat (and likely accrue additional storage fees in the process) until the debt is paid. If the debt is never paid then the boat can be sold to cover the costs. This is the bit that most people get panicked by when they hear salvage, but it doesn't fall automatically.

 

[Jcorstorphine]

This is an extract from the following UK web page on maritime salvage.https://www.gov.uk/guidance/wreck-and-salvage-law

"If a boat comes off its moorings, it isn’t generally classified as a wreck for the purposes of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, as it hasn’t been abandoned without hope of recovery."

 

[Stingray49]

Mooring could now be available John , interested ? PM me

 

[Giblets]

Let's hope the salvors have better luck in contacting the owner.

 

[prv]

This is an extract from the following UK web page on maritime salvage.https://www.gov.uk/guidance/wreck-and-salvage-law

"If a boat comes off its moorings, it isn’t generally classified as a wreck for the purposes of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, as it hasn’t been abandoned without hope of recovery."

That's about Wreck, not Salvage.

Pete

 

[prv]

There is a misunderstanding with what "claiming salvage" means. It doesn't automatically mean you one the boat.

I blame Arthur Ransome

At the beginning of We Didn't Mean To Go To Sea, the Goblin's skipper tells a story of someone forfeiting his boat through a fraudulent salvage claim - this causes the children to avoid asking for help and hence enables the adventure. Of course lots of sailing people have read this, possibly at a young age, and formed the impression that allowing someone to "claim salvage" automatically means losing your boat.

In actual fact it's just a system for compensating those who work to protect others' property from loss or damage when there's no time to agree terms first, the sums involved in a pleasure-vessel incident are unlikely to be vast, and are generally covered by insurance. And the insurers are happy to pay a salvage fee since the alternative, pretty much by definition, would be for them to have to cover a larger loss.

Pete

 

[Topcat47]

At least you got your mooring back.....

 

[Stingray49]

We managed to get a refund after all the bother, have just heard my boat partner has bought the mooring back for a very reduced sum. There’s justice for you!

 

[[3889]]

Yes , this is the yacht that caused us so much grief, and we certainly not interested in any salvage etc. We just interested in what are salvage rights , evidently their is a saying if a boat is washed up and you tie it up with a rope you can claim salvage rights unless owner comes forward with proof of ownership. Anyone heard of this ?

I've "heard" that if you purposefully dry out and don't lay an anchor someone can secure the vessel and claim salvage, even if you're aboard at the time. I don't think that's true, either.
The unimpeachable Wikipedia states:
Danger needs to be real but not necessarily immediate or absolute.[2] The subject of salvage must be in real danger, which means the property is exposed to damage or destruction.[3]

The burden of proof lies on the salvor, which means the salvor needs to prove real danger existed when the performance of service commenced. The court or arbitrators must determine whether the property was truly in danger. As every situation differs, both subjective and objective tests will be conducted. Common considerations are:

Would a reasonable Master of the vessel in distress have answered yes or no to the offer of assistance?
Was there a real apprehension of danger even though that danger may not have been absolute or immediate?
Was the danger fanciful or so remote as only to be a distant possibility?
It is incumbent upon the court to assess the existence and level of danger, both present and future. The case of the Troilus (1951 1 Lloyd's Rep. 467, HL) illustrated the concept of future danger that the court must take into account when determining the existence of danger. In this particular case, the cargo owners contended that the ship was in perfect safety when she reached Aden, and therefore it constituted ocean towage but not salvage when towing from Aden to UK. The court held that even though the ship and cargo was in physical safety, the services rendered still amounted to salvage service on the grounds that the master of a damaged ship must do his best to preserve the ship and cargo and bring them to their destination as cheaply and efficiently as possible. The salvage award was reasonable as long as the master acts reasonably for the combined benefit of ship and cargo.

In the modern world, the dispute normally is not about whether there is just the existence of danger, but also the degree of danger, as it determines the extent of the award.

 

[lenten]

i towed a 60 foot fishing boat into fraserburgh----must have broken down on sea trials ---2 very smart men in caterpillar overalls on deck---in the pub that night i said i was a surprised that no one came round to say thanks----was told that the fishing boat crew would be waiting for me to come round and claim salvage----as the weather was calm and and the tow wasn t very far their insurers would offer me maybe 1/4% of of the value of the boat---£250