An owner who offers his yacht for charter with the charter agency Privat Charter Ostsee (PCO) and had his boat certificate, which is due every two years, inspected in 2022 was blindsided. For the technical inspection of the yacht, which is required by law for chartering, he received a notice of fees that was around four times higher. Instead of the previous 85 euros, the whole thing now costs around 332 euros, without any further explanation. And this despite the fact that the on-site inspection for two boats took less than half an hour.
PCO boss Rolf Brezinsky is also aware of the radically increased fees, which cannot be justified by inflation: "We enquired with the water and shipping authority responsible for us and were sent the new fee regulations. It sets out a range of fees for issuing a boat certificate from 102 to 562 euros. According to the WSA, the higher-level Directorate General of Waterways and Shipping Authorities has apparently simply decided in favour of the middle."
The new fee schedule is based on the same instruction from the Federal Ministry of Transport from October 2021, which has already led to a hefty increase in examination fees for driving licences.
"It may be that fees increase once, but quadrupling them straight away? That would cause an outcry among the affected owners here on the coast." It also makes a difference whether a boat is newly inspected or the boat certificate is only renewed and the inspector only takes a quick look at the boat, as in the case described. According to Brezinsky, the least that can be done is to differentiate between the initial inspection and the renewal. In the meantime, he has also forwarded the case to the Federal Association of the Water Sports Industry (BVWW). When he asked the WSA Lübeck, he was told succinctly that he could appeal against the fee notice.
YACHT wanted to know from the responsible WSA Lübeck how the radical increase was justified and how the huge price range in the regulation was explained, but the WSA refused to comment and referred the matter to the higher-level Waterways and Shipping Directorate in Kiel. No one there was available for a verbal statement, and YACHT's subsequent written enquiry has not been answered for a week.
