The charges which the conservancy authority is for the time being authorised to demand, take and recover in respect of vessels and goods or otherwise under any enactment must be payable before the removal from the estuary of any vessel or goods in respect of which they are payable, and may be demanded, taken and recovered by such persons, at such places, at such times and under such terms and conditions as the authority may from time to time specify in its published list of charges.

Charges payable to the conservancy authority shall be payable by the owner of any vessel or goods in relation to which the charges are payable.

Where charges payable to the conservancy authority may be recovered by it from more than one person, the persons from whom they may be recovered are jointly and severally liable.

The conservancy authority may confer total or partial exemptions from, or allow rebates to or make compositions with any person with respect to charges, and may vary or extinguish any such exemption, rebate or composition.

Nothing in section 30 (duty to make available for inspection etc. certain charges) of the 1964 Act requires the conservancy authority to include in the list of ship, passenger and goods dues kept at the harbour office, as required by subsection (1) of that section, charges reduced by a rebate allowed on, or subject to a compounding arrangement in respect of, a due included in that list.

The conservancy authority may require a person who incurs or is about to incur a charge to deposit with it, or to guarantee, such sum of money as is, in the opinion of the authority, reasonable having regard to the amount or probable amount of the charge.

Where such a person fails to deposit or guarantee the sum of money required the conservancy authority may detain in the estuary the vessel or goods in respect of which the charge has been or will be incurred, until the requirement has been complied with or the charge paid.

A person who by agreement with the conservancy authority collects charges on its behalf and who pays or gives security for the payment of charges on goods in that person’s possession has a lien on those goods for the amount paid or security given.

A person being a wharfinger or carrier who does not have personal liability for the payment of charges may pay or by agreement with the conservancy authority give security for charges on goods in that person’s custody.

Where paragraph (2) applies, the person has a like lien on the goods for the amount of the charges as that person would have in respect of their charges for safe custody or carriage of the goods, as the case may be.

An officer of the Department for Transport in the execution of that officer’s duty is at all times exempt from dues in respect of a vessel belonging to or in the service of the Department.

No dues are payable by any small vessel.

No dues in respect of passengers or goods may be demanded by the conservancy authority in relation to any vessel that is inbound from the sea to the port or outbound for the sea from the port.

In this article “dues” means ship, passenger and goods dues which the conservancy authority may demand under section 26 (charges for services or facilities) of the 1964 Act.