All statutory harbour authorities (SHAs) will be familiar with updating their Schedules of Charges. However, with the endless range of terms used, including ship dues, passenger dues, goods dues, harbour dues, conservancy dues, wharfage to name a few, it can become quite confusing. Confusion leads to uncertainty which leads to problems, for example when it comes to enforcement for non-payment of charges and the types of challenge which can be brought against them.
This article clarifies the different types of charge available to harbour authorities, how Schedules of Charges can be improved, and why it matters.
For statutory harbour authorities (SHAs), there are essentially two categories:
SHAs have the power under section 26 of the Harbours Act 1964 to levy ‘ship, passenger and goods dues’, subject to relevant exemptions. These are defined in section 57 as:
Income from ship, passenger and goods dues should be sufficient to cover maintenance of the core harbour infrastructure, dredging, lighting the harbour for navigational purposes etc. (compliance with the SHAs core statutory functions). This includes accruing a reasonable surplus if required towards future relevant expenditure. Any shortfall could be made up with income from other sources, for example other charges and rents etc, but not pilotage charges because pilotage is a separate function.
It is important to remember that:
SHAs should consider these points carefully when drafting their Schedules of Charges.
Section 30 of the Harbours Act 1964 requires that ship, passenger and goods dues ‘shall be kept at the harbour office and shall be open there during reasonable hours for inspection by any person without charge’. This is effectively a requirement to publish a Schedule of Charges. Most SHAs go beyond the requirement and publish it the harbour website, too.
Any charge an SHA levies which is not a ‘ship, passenger and goods due’ falls into the category of ‘other charges’. These are usually charges for the provision of services and facilities provided by the SHA, such as:
It is important in any Schedule of Charges that these do not get mixed up with ship, passenger and goods dues because they are not levied under section 26 of the Harbours Act 1964. Mostly, they are levied under separate charging powers which can be found in the SHAs local legislation (different SHAs often have different charging powers) and section 27 of the Harbours Act 1964 requires such charges to be ‘reasonable’.
Although section 27A of the Harbours Act 1964 permits, in certain circumstances, for SHAs to make combined charges in respect of ship, goods and passenger dues and other charges, this cannot be done if a person or person(s) (or any one of them) who are liable to pay the charge objects. This should not be forgotten where combined charges are set out in Schedule of Charges, most commonly where annual mooring charges include ship dues.
Pilotage is a function of competent harbour authorities (CHAs). This is separate to the SHA function, so any income from pilotage charges should only be used for pilotage-related purposes.
CHAs are authorised by section 10(1) of the Pilotage Act 1987 to 'make reasonable charges in respect of the pilotage services provided by [them].'
Under section 10(2), such charges may include, but are not limited to:
Under section 10(3), a CHA may also make reasonable charges in respect of any ship navigating within the area to which a pilotage direction applies under the pilotage of a deck officer who is the holder of a pilotage exemption certificate.
Like ship, passenger and goods dues, a list of pilotage charges should also be published under section 10(5). Although it is fine to have a combined Schedule of Charges which includes ship, passenger and goods dues, other charges and pilotage charges, it should be very clear that that the pilotage charges are separate and levied under separate powers. The easiest way to do this is by setting them out in their own heading.
Some simple changes can make a big difference. For example, some SHAs use terms such as ‘conservancy due’ or ‘wharfage’. However, these terms aren’t actually defined in the Harbours Act 1964, so it’s best practice to avoid them altogether or include a definition making clear what type of charge they are. Conservancy charges are usually a type of ship due and dependent on the circumstances wharfage charges may also be a ship due, a good due or are sometimes an ‘other charge’. Hence, confusion can arise.
Additionally:
It’s good practice to refer to the enabling powers which permit the SHA/CHA to levy each type of charge.
Ship, passenger and goods dues/pilotage charges cannot be levied unless they are published in a Schedule of Charges. However, it is often difficult to determine the type of charge being levied/the scope of it because of how it is described. This affects the enforcement for non-payment of charges and the types of challenge which can be brought against them.
If you would like advice, please contact Lara Moore or Emily Woof in the marine team who would be happy to assist.
