'Secret Love’ on the Thames Gets Nearly £1800 Court Costs
Source: gov.uk (2025-08-20)

Cheekily named boat is one of three more unregistered vessel prosecutions. Heavy costs give stark warning to non-registered boat owners on the river.

The ongoing crackdown on unregistered vessels in the Thames has now resulted in 45 boaters having to pay a combined total of over £63,000 for their offences in the last 12 months alone.

Whilst on river in December 2023, Environment Agency enforcement officers discovered 125 unregistered vessels during spot checks at Penton Hook Marina in Surrey.

The inspection showed unacceptably high levels of registration evasion with a quarter of the boats in the marina failing to have been registered. Every boat owner was traced and given ample warning and opportunity to register their boats correctly.

In the most recent batch of prosecutions, Staines magistrates’ court was told that a further 5 boat owners had skipped the annual registration fee, determined by the length and width of the boat. This included Stephen McLean owner of the boat Serenity XI who originally pleaded not guilty in the Magistrates Court on 3 December 2024, and Benjamin Greene owner of the boat Apache Princess.

Apache Princess, which was found to not be registered.

A high charge on this occasion was issued to Mark Kelly of Cricklade for his boat Secret Love II – nearly £1800 including costs, fines, compensation and victim surcharge. (Full details of all fines below)

This latest round of enforcement action follows 40 boating offenders being prosecuted in October: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/christmas-crackdown-continues-on-unregistered-thames-boats (https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fnews%2Fchristmas-crackdown-continues-on-unregistered-thames-boats&data=05%7C02%7CAndrew.Turton1%40defra.gov.uk%7C713b72be6b054a76196008dddfd3af01%7C770a245002274c6290c74e38537f1102%7C0%7C0%7C638912822643412338%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=juLm6qrfFUGaiVzUGgmww8rZ1XcEiVYVXCoGDwV1WmA%3D&reserved=0), and brings the total to 100% conviction rate of the 41 cases from Penton Hook Marina from 2023.

'Serenity', which was also found not to have a boat registration.

Colin Chiverton, Environment Manager at the Environment Agency said:

Our Enforcement Officers have no love, secret or otherwise, for unregistered boats on the Thames. They’re out all year long patrolling the river, checking valid registrations and taking action against those who cheat their fellow boaters.

As our recent prosecutions clearly demonstrate, we will have no hesitation in bringing further offenders to court who avoid their obligations and responsibilities to lawful river users.

The Environment Agency’s approach to non-registration on the Thames has changed – boat owners are given ample opportunity to register their boat however once a summons has been issued, it won’t stop court proceedings, even if the boat owner subsequently pays their registration fee.

Similar to excise duty for road vehicles, boat registration fees allow the Environment Agency to manage and maintain more than 600 miles of inland waterways across England, keeping them open and safe for thousands of boaters to enjoy.

Boats can be registered by calling 03708 506 506 or going to River Thames: boat registration and application forms - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) (https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fcollections%2Friver-thames-boat-registration-and-application-forms&data=05%7C02%7CAndrew.Turton1%40defra.gov.uk%7C713b72be6b054a76196008dddfd3af01%7C770a245002274c6290c74e38537f1102%7C0%7C0%7C638912822643439076%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=enZioCIVsl7jpI5nhGYejmT3pzD3a3kGN%2Fm7tNd30W0%3D&reserved=0)