THE light ship Mersey Bar, moored in Liverpool Docks has been towed away by Canal & River Trust as mooring fees have not been paid.
Mooring fees totalling over £10,000 are still owing, so the light ship was removed from its mooring up onto the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, Chris Potter tells us.
Mooring fees
The Trust explains that over £10,000 is owed by the owners in mooring fees, and as not forthcoming have removed the light ship from where it operates its business in Canning Dock.
There is some dispute over the fees, but CaRT thought the best way to solve the problem was to tow it away, that appears to be the new solution to unpaid fees.
The ship was being used as a café bar, but a spokesman for the Trust told that it did not have a licence to trade, that clouds the issue.
Threatening suicide
The owner, Alan Roberts, was seen threatening to throw himself into the Mersey as his ship was being towed away, yelling for them to stop.
There is the rumour that the lightship is being towed to Gloucester by two tugs, but at what cost, and the cost of its possible return, and who pays, is not known. Perhaps yet another 'misplaced' legal action in the offing?