The ongoing autumn and winter crackdown on unregistered vessels in the Thames has resulted in 40 boaters paying over £55,000 for their offenses.
Environment Agency enforcement officers were on river patrols when they discovered the unregistered boats during spot checks at Penton Hook Marina in Surrey.
This latest inspection showed unacceptably high levels of registration evasion with a quarter of the boats. A – around 125 marina boats have been registered. They failed to register ample warning and opportunity to register their ships correctly.
In the most recent round of cases, Staines magistrates’ court was told that 26 owners had skipped the annual registration fee, which is determined by the length and width of the boat.
The highest charges were issued to Jess Rugeris of Moseley for their boat Le Petit II – more than £3,371, including fines, costs, compensation, and victim surcharge.
This enforcement action follows the prosecution of 14 boating offenders in October. They were charged with operating unregistered boats on the River Thames and fined and charged costs totaling £18,000.