Damage in a lock, on the Danube or elsewhere: who pays?

Anyone cruising the Danube, the Rhine, the Moselle or Europe's canals will go through plenty of locks, and for motor boats they are where many scrapes and dents happen. Typical cases are a hull pushed against the wall as the chamber fills or empties, a line that jams on a bollard and tears out a cleat or a stanchion, a boat thrown against another by the wash of a commercial vessel, or water rising faster than expected. Who pays depends on where the damage happens and who caused it.

Damage to your own boat that happens suddenly during the locking manoeuvre is normally a matter for hull cover, if you have it. With us it counts as an accident, covered from Basis Plus; Basis does not cover it. Damage you do to the lock itself or to another boat is a liability claim. If another vessel caused the damage, for example a commercial ship using too much power, its master or owner is liable, and a hull insurer will often pay first and recover the money afterwards. Where the lock keeper made a mistake, the operator may be liable, but that is hard to prove. Report what happened to the lock staff straight away.

Prevention is straightforward. Put out plenty of fenders on both sides, take lines round the bollard and hold them in your hand rather than making them fast, so you can ease them as the level changes. Follow the light signals and the lock keeper's instructions, keep clear of commercial traffic and only enter when told to. If damage happens anyway, take photos, note the names of vessels involved and any witnesses, and report it before any repair is carried out.

Worth remembering

Lines held in hand and enough fenders prevent most lock damage.