The British Waterways Board
10Duty and powers of British Waterways Board
(1)It shall be the duty of the British Waterways Board in the exercise of their powers under this Act to provide to such extent as they may think expedient—
(a)services and facilities on the inland waterways owned or managed by them, and
(b)port facilities at any harbour owned or managed by them,
and to have due regard to efficiency, economy and safety of operation as respects the services and facilities provided by them.
(2)It shall also be the duty of the Board to review the manner in which the inland waterways owned or managed by them, so far as not required for the discharge of their duty under subsection (1) of this section, may be put to the best use, to formulate proposals with the object of putting them to the best use and to take all steps open to them to achieve that object whether by developing or converting any inland waterway themselves or by selling or leasing to other persons.
(3)Subject to this Act, the British Waterways Board shall have power—
(a)to carry goods and passengers by inland waterway and to provide facilities for traffic on the inland waterways owned or managed by them,
(b)to operate the harbours owned or managed by them and to provide port facilities at those harbours,
(c)to provide transport services by road—
(i)for the carriage of goods which have been or are to be carried by the Board by inland waterway, and
(ii)for the carriage of goods where the use of an inland waterway owned or managed by the Board has been temporarily interrupted,
and to carry goods by those services,
(d)to abstract and sell untreated water from any inland waterway owned or managed by the Board for any purpose,
(e)to consign goods on behalf of other persons on routes wholly or partly over any of the inland waterways owned or managed by them or to or from, or on routes through, any of the harbours owned or managed by them,
(f)to store goods which have been or are to be carried on any of the inland waterways owned or managed by the Board, or which have been or are to be loaded or unloaded in or carried through any of the harbours owned or managed by them, and, so far as any premises provided for the purposes of that or any other part of their business are not required for those purposes, to use them to provide facilities for the storage of other goods,
(g)to enter into and carry out agreements—
(i)with carriers outside Great Britain for the through carriage of goods and passengers under one contract or at a through rate or in the same vessels or containers, and
(ii)with any person engaged in coastal shipping for coordinating the activities of that person with those of the Board and, in particular, for facilitating the through carriage of goods, for the quoting of through rates and for the pooling of receipts or expenses.
(4)Subsections (1) and (2) of this section shall not be construed as imposing, either directly or indirectly, any form of duty or liability enforceable by proceedings before any court to which the Board would not otherwise be subject.