Terms of Service

These General Terms of Service (the "Terms") govern access to and use of the Docking platform operated by Docking, LDA. ("Docking", "we", "us" or "our"). They form a legally binding agreement between Docking and any natural or legal person who accesses, registers on, browses, or otherwise uses the Platform as a Yacht User. Yacht Users are strongly encouraged to read these Terms carefully and in their entirety prior to using the Platform. By creating an account, submitting a Booking Request, or using the Platform in any manner whatsoever, the Yacht User expressly acknowledges and agrees to be legally bound by these Terms, as well as by the Privacy Policy and the Booking, Payment & Cancellation Terms incorporated herein by reference, without limitation or reservation.

Marinas registered on the Platform are governed by the Docking Marina Partner Agreement they enter into with Docking, which prevails over these Terms in respect of the Marina’s commercial relationship with Docking. These Terms govern the relationship between Docking and the Yacht User only.

Article 1 - Definitions

For the purposes of these Terms, the following definitions shall apply:

"Docking", "we", "us" or "our" refers to Docking, LDA., a company incorporated under the laws of Portugal, with registered office at Rua do Outeiro 2, 2F S7, 4050-452 Porto, Portugal, registered under company number 519278674, including the website https://docking.app and any related web-based or mobile interfaces operated by it.

"Platform" means the digital marketplace operated by Docking enabling Booking Requests for berthing services between Yacht Users and Marinas, together with the related online tools, features and content.

"Yacht User" or "User" means any natural or legal person using the Platform to search for, request, manage or interact with berth Bookings, including any captain, owner, charterer or representative acting on behalf of a vessel.

"Billing Entity" means the natural or legal person (typically the owner or commercial operator of the vessel) in whose name invoices issued by Docking in respect of the Service Fee are addressed. The Billing Entity is identified by the details entered by the Yacht User on the relevant vessel profile within the Platform, including legal name, registered or domicile address and, where applicable, VAT or other tax identification number. The Billing Entity may be the Yacht User themselves or a separate person.

"Marina" means a professional entity offering berthing services and duly registered on the Platform under a Marina Partner Agreement with Docking.

"Booking Request" means a request submitted by a Yacht User through the Platform to reserve a berth at a Marina for specific dates.

"Booking" means a Booking Request that has been formally accepted by the Marina through the Platform.

"Net Rate" means the rate set by the Marina for berthing services, exclusive of the Service Fee, which the Marina wishes to receive.

"Service Fee" means the fee charged by Docking to the Yacht User for facilitating the Booking, calculated as a percentage of the Net Rate and added on top of it. The applicable Service Fee is the one disclosed and accepted by the Yacht User at checkout.

"Total Price" means the all-inclusive amount payable by the Yacht User in respect of a Booking, comprising the Net Rate and the Service Fee.

"Marina Deposit" means a portion of the Net Rate charged in advance in accordance with the Booking, Payment & Cancellation Terms.

"Balance" means the remaining portion of the Net Rate due on the day of arrival.

"Booking Terms" means the Booking, Payment & Cancellation Terms published by Docking, as applicable to a particular Booking, together with the Marina-specific deposit refundability and no-show policy disclosed and accepted at checkout.

"Marina Partner Agreement" means the contract entered into between Docking and a Marina governing the Marina’s use of the Platform.

"Stripe" means Stripe, Inc. and its affiliates, the regulated payment service provider engaged by Docking to process payments through the Platform.

"Account" means the personal account created by a Yacht User to access the Platform.

"Content" means any data, text, message, picture, document or other material made available, uploaded or transmitted on or through the Platform.

Article 2 - Role of Docking

Docking operates exclusively as a digital marketplace intermediary. Docking does not own, operate, manage, control, lease or sub-lease any marina, berth, mooring, pontoon, jetty or other nautical infrastructure, and does not itself provide berthing, mooring, fuelling, security, hospitality or any other on-water or shore-side services. Docking is not a party to the contract for berthing services, which is concluded directly and exclusively between the Yacht User and the Marina upon confirmation of the Booking. Docking does not act as a broker, agent, charter intermediary, insurer, surveyor, classification society, or legal representative of either the Yacht User or the Marina, and shall in no circumstances be deemed to make any representation, warranty or guarantee in relation to the services or facilities provided by any Marina.

Docking’s role is strictly limited to (i) operating the Platform and the related search, listing and communication tools; (ii) facilitating the submission and acceptance of Booking Requests; (iii) processing payments through Stripe in accordance with the applicable Booking Terms; (iv) holding, splitting, releasing or refunding funds in accordance with those terms; (v) providing user support; and (vi) acting as a final decision authority for the purposes of payment allocation and Platform enforcement under Article 16 below.

Article 3 - Acceptance of the Terms

By creating an Account, submitting a Booking Request, or using the Platform in any manner whatsoever, the Yacht User confirms that they (i) are at least eighteen (18) years of age; (ii) possess the legal capacity to enter into binding agreements under the laws of the jurisdiction in which they are domiciled; (iii) act either on their own behalf or with the proper authority to act on behalf of the natural or legal person they represent; and (iv) have read, understood and accepted these Terms together with the Privacy Policy and the Booking Terms applicable to their Booking. Continued use of the Platform after the publication of an updated version of these Terms constitutes ongoing acceptance of those updated Terms.

Article 4 - Eligibility and User Accounts

Use of the Platform requires the creation of an Account. The Yacht User undertakes to provide accurate, complete and up-to-date information when creating and maintaining an Account, including identification details, contact details, vessel information where applicable, and a valid payment method. The Yacht User undertakes to update such information without delay whenever it changes.

Each Yacht User is permitted a single individual Account. The Yacht User is solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of their login credentials and for all activities conducted through their Account, whether authorised or not, and must inform Docking without delay of any unauthorised access, suspected compromise or loss of credentials. Docking shall not be liable for any unauthorised access, use or misuse of an Account resulting from the Yacht User’s failure to comply with this Article.

Docking reserves the right, at its sole discretion and without prior notice, to refuse to register an Account, to suspend or terminate any Account, to cancel pending Booking Requests, or to deny access to all or part of the Platform in the event of (i) breach of these Terms or of any other policy applicable to the Platform; (ii) provision of inaccurate, misleading or fraudulent information; (iii) suspected fraud, money-laundering, sanctions-related concerns or other unlawful activity; (iv) abusive use of cancellation, refund, dispute or chargeback mechanisms; or (v) any conduct that may damage the Platform, the Marinas, other Yacht Users or third parties.

The Yacht User may close their Account at any time through the Platform settings or by contacting Docking. Closure of the Account does not affect Bookings already confirmed at the moment of closure, which remain governed by the Booking Terms accepted at the time of booking and may continue to give rise to charges and refunds.

Article 5 - Description of the Services

Subject to these Terms, the Platform provides Yacht Users with the following non-exhaustive functionalities:

Account creation, authentication, profile management and vessel information management.
Search, discovery and consultation of Marina listings, including dates, availability, indicative pricing and Marina-specific information made available by the relevant Marina.
Submission of Booking Requests and consultation of past, current and upcoming Bookings.
Communication with the relevant Marina through the in-Platform messaging tools, both prior to and after a Booking is confirmed.
Processing of payments and refunds through Stripe Connect, including pre-authorisation, capture, deposit charges, balance charges and refunds, all in accordance with the applicable Booking Terms.
Notifications relating to the Booking lifecycle, upcoming charges and account-related events.

Docking may add, modify, suspend or remove features of the Platform at any time, in accordance with Article 21 below.

Article 6 - Booking Process and Formation of Contract

Booking Requests are submitted exclusively through the Platform. The Yacht User must register a valid payment card on file and accept the Booking Terms applicable to the Booking before a Booking Request can be submitted. The submission of a Booking Request does not by itself create a binding berthing contract. A Booking is formed only upon express acceptance of the Booking Request by the Marina through the Platform.

Where a Marina, in response to a Booking Request, proposes a counter-offer (for example, in respect of dates, duration or price), the Booking is formed only if and when the Yacht User accepts that counter-offer through the Platform. Until such acceptance, no Booking exists and no charges shall be triggered other than any pre-authorisation expressly disclosed.

Once a Booking has been confirmed through the Platform, a contract for berthing services is formed directly and exclusively between the Yacht User and the Marina. Docking is not a party to that contract. The Yacht User undertakes to comply with the Marina’s harbour regulations, port rules, safety instructions, applicable maritime authorities’ instructions, and any insurance, registration and documentation requirements set by the Marina or by applicable law.

Article 7 - Pricing, Service Fee and Total Price

Marinas set a Net Rate for berthing services on the Platform. The Service Fee is added on top of the Net Rate by the Platform to produce the all-inclusive Total Price displayed to the Yacht User. The Yacht User is shown the Total Price during their search and at checkout, together with a clear breakdown of the Net Rate and the Service Fee at the moment of confirmation. The currency in which a Booking is priced is determined by the Marina and disclosed prior to confirmation.

The Service Fee is the consideration paid by the Yacht User to Docking for the use of the Platform and is the only fee charged by Docking to the Yacht User in connection with a Booking. The Service Fee is calculated as a percentage of the Net Rate, as disclosed at checkout. Docking reserves the right to update the Service Fee from time to time; any updated Service Fee shall apply only to Booking Requests submitted after the publication of the updated rate.

In consideration of the Service Fee, Docking provides the Yacht User, in particular, with: (i) access to the Platform and the operation of the Stripe Connect payment infrastructure used to process the Booking, including secure card handling, the staged capture of amounts in accordance with the charging schedule, the holding of the Marina Deposit and the Balance until they are due, and the processing of refunds; (ii) the absorption by Docking of Stripe transaction and refund fees triggered by refunds granted by the Marina in connection with a force majeure event affecting the Yacht User, as further described in the Booking Terms; (iii) the entitlement to a full refund of all amounts paid in respect of a Booking — including the Service Fee itself — where the Marina cancels the confirmed Booking, in accordance with Article 11 below and the Booking Terms; and (iv) user support and the dispute and decision-making mechanism described in these Terms and in the Booking Terms.

The Yacht User is responsible for any currency conversion costs, foreign-transaction fees or local taxes that the Yacht User’s card issuer or bank may apply to the charges processed in connection with a Booking. Such costs are determined by third parties and are not collected by Docking.

Article 8 - Payments

All payments in connection with a Booking are processed exclusively through Stripe. The Yacht User authorises Docking, acting through Stripe, to charge the registered payment card for amounts due in accordance with the Booking Terms accepted at checkout, including the Service Fee, the Marina Deposit (where applicable), the Balance, and any no-show or late-cancellation charges that may apply under the accepted Marina-specific policy.

Docking uses Stripe Connect to split payments automatically. The Net Rate (or any portion thereof actually charged) is paid to the Marina’s connected Stripe account, and the Service Fee is paid to Docking. Docking does not receive any portion of the Net Rate other than as required to process refunds, chargebacks or reversals on behalf of the Marina.

Stripe transaction fees applicable to charges and refunds are borne by Docking. The Yacht User is not charged any payment-processing fee on top of the Total Price.

Docking issues an invoice in respect of the Service Fee in the name of the Billing Entity associated with the relevant vessel profile, and makes that invoice available to the Yacht User and the Billing Entity through a personalised link sent by email upon confirmation of the Booking. The Marina is solely responsible for the issuance of its own invoice in respect of the Net Rate and any on-site charges payable to the Marina; to enable this, Docking transmits the Billing Entity details to the Marina through the Platform at the time of Booking confirmation. Stripe issues payment receipts and refund confirmations in accordance with its own terms. The detailed invoicing flow is set out in the Booking Terms.

Article 9 - Charging Schedule

The detailed charging schedule applicable to a Booking is set out in the Booking Terms accepted at checkout. As a general framework:

Where the Yacht User opts to pay in full at the time of Booking, the Total Price is charged at confirmation.
Where the Yacht User opts to pay in two parts and the Booking is made more than sixty (60) days before arrival, (i) the Service Fee is charged at the time of Booking, (ii) the Marina Deposit is charged automatically approximately sixty (60) days before the arrival date, and (iii) the Balance is charged on the arrival date.
Where the Yacht User opts to pay in two parts and the Booking is made sixty (60) days or fewer before arrival, the Service Fee and the Marina Deposit are charged together at the time of Booking, and the Balance is charged on the arrival date.

The Yacht User shall be notified in advance of any automatic charge through the email and notification settings configured in their Account, and is responsible for ensuring that the registered payment card remains valid and adequately funded at the time each charge is due.

Article 10 - Cancellations and Refunds (Yacht User)

A Booking Request that has been submitted but has not yet been accepted by the Marina may be withdrawn by the Yacht User at any time, free of charge, through the Platform. As no Booking is formed and no payment is captured prior to Marina acceptance, no Service Fee or other charge is owed in respect of a Booking Request withdrawn at this stage; any pre-authorisation placed on the Yacht User’s payment card shall be released in accordance with Stripe’s standard timelines.

Once a Booking has been confirmed by Marina acceptance, cancellation by the Yacht User is processed exclusively through the Platform. The conditions applicable to such a cancellation, including the refundability of the Marina Deposit, are governed by (i) the Booking Terms in force at the time of Booking and (ii) the Marina-specific deposit and no-show policy disclosed and accepted at checkout. Once accepted, those conditions cannot be unilaterally modified by the Yacht User and shall apply to the cancellation regardless of its motive.

From the moment of Booking confirmation onwards, the Service Fee is non-refundable in all cases of cancellation initiated by the Yacht User, regardless of timing, save in the limited circumstances expressly provided in the Booking Terms.

Any voluntary refund granted by a Marina beyond what is required by the accepted policy is exceptional, voluntary, non-binding, non-precedent-setting and not enforceable through Docking. Docking has no obligation to negotiate, encourage or enforce such discretionary refunds.

Article 11 - Cancellation by the Marina

If a Marina cancels a confirmed Booking, the Yacht User shall be entitled to a full refund of all amounts paid in respect of that Booking, including the Service Fee. Such refunds are processed by Docking through Stripe. The Yacht User acknowledges that the time required for the refunded amounts to appear on the Yacht User’s payment instrument is determined by Stripe and the relevant card issuer, and not by Docking.

Marina-initiated cancellations do not give rise to compensation, damages or any further liability of Docking towards the Yacht User. Docking will use reasonable endeavours to assist the Yacht User in identifying alternative berthing options on the Platform, without any obligation of result.

Article 12 - No-Show

A no-show is defined as the failure of the Yacht User to arrive at the Marina on the booked arrival date without a valid cancellation submitted through the Platform. The financial consequences of a no-show are governed by the Booking Terms and by the Marina-specific no-show policy disclosed and accepted at checkout, which may provide for the retention of the Marina Deposit only or the charging of the full Net Rate.

The Yacht User is responsible for arriving in compliance with applicable maritime regulations, harbour rules and weather and operational constraints. Failure to arrive due to such constraints does not automatically entitle the Yacht User to a refund and is governed by Article 13 below.

Article 13 - Force Majeure and General Disclaimer

Docking is not responsible for, and provides no warranty in respect of, weather conditions, sea state, wave or swell, port closures, navigation restrictions, decisions or instructions of port, coastguard or maritime authorities, mechanical or operational failures of vessels, technical defects of berths or marina infrastructure, the conduct of Marina personnel, or the acts or omissions of any other Yacht User, Marina or third party.

Force majeure events affecting the ability of the Yacht User to reach the Marina do not automatically entitle the Yacht User to a refund. The Yacht User may submit any supporting information to the Marina through the Platform, and any refund or rescheduling granted in such circumstances is at the Marina’s sole discretion, voluntary, exceptional, not guaranteed and not precedent-setting. Docking does not act as an insurer of any Booking, voyage or vessel, and is not responsible for verifying maritime conditions, weather events or navigation decisions.

The Yacht User is solely responsible for ensuring that the vessel is fit for the voyage, properly insured, properly registered and crewed, and complies with all applicable laws, regulations and port instructions.

Article 14 - Direct Bookings, Circumvention and Acceptable Use

The Yacht User undertakes not to use the Platform in a manner that circumvents Docking’s legitimate role as intermediary. In particular, the Yacht User undertakes not to (i) use information obtained through the Platform to contact a Marina with a view to concluding, confirming, modifying or extending a Booking outside the Platform; (ii) accept or solicit pricing, conditions or special arrangements outside the Platform that have the purpose or effect of avoiding the Service Fee; (iii) abuse cancellation, refund, dispute or chargeback mechanisms; or (iv) submit fraudulent, fictitious or duplicative Booking Requests.

In addition, the Yacht User undertakes not to use the Platform for unlawful, harmful or abusive purposes, and in particular not to:

upload, transmit or share any content that is unlawful, defamatory, obscene, threatening, discriminatory, harassing or otherwise contrary to public order or morality;
infringe the intellectual property rights, image rights, privacy rights or any other rights of Docking, of any Marina, of any other User or of any third party;
introduce viruses, malware, time-locks, ransomware or any other harmful code, or attempt to compromise the security or integrity of the Platform;
attempt to gain unauthorised access to any part of the Platform, to other Users’ Accounts, or to any underlying infrastructure or data;
scrape, harvest, extract, mirror, index or otherwise exploit Platform data through automated means, except as expressly authorised in writing by Docking;
use the Platform to send unsolicited communications, advertising, spam or any form of inappropriate solicitation;
impersonate any person or entity, or misrepresent the Yacht User’s identity, vessel or affiliation.

Any breach of this Article may, without prejudice to any other remedy available to Docking, result in the immediate suspension or termination of the Yacht User’s Account and in the cancellation of pending and future Bookings.

Article 15 - Disputes between Yacht User and Marina; Decision Authority

In the event of a dispute between a Yacht User and a Marina in connection with a Booking, the parties undertake to first seek an amicable resolution through the Platform messaging tools and, where applicable, with the assistance of Docking’s support team. If no amicable resolution can be reached, Docking acts as the final decision authority for the purposes of payment allocation and Platform enforcement.

Docking’s decisions are based on (i) the Booking Terms and any Marina-specific policy accepted at checkout; (ii) the data, timestamps, communications and logs available on the Platform; and (iii) the evidence submitted by both parties through the Platform. Such decisions are binding on the parties for the purposes of the Platform, are taken without the parties forming any contractual relationship of arbitration or mediation with Docking, do not constitute legal advice, and do not replace the judicial remedies available under applicable law as set out in Article 25 below.

Article 16 - Communications and Electronic Evidence

All communications between Docking and the Yacht User in connection with the Platform may be made through the email address registered with the Account, the in-Platform messaging tools, or through any other channel made available on the Platform. The Yacht User is responsible for ensuring that the contact details associated with the Account are accurate and up to date. Notifications sent to the registered email address shall be deemed received on the day of dispatch.

The Yacht User acknowledges that electronic records generated by the Platform, including booking timestamps, payment events, messages exchanged through the in-Platform messaging tool, system logs and audit trails, shall hold full evidentiary value between the parties to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law.

Article 17 - Suspension and Termination

Docking may suspend or terminate the Yacht User’s access to the Platform, with or without notice, in the cases described in Article 4 above and more generally in any case of breach of these Terms. Where the suspension or termination is not motivated by an urgent breach, Docking shall use reasonable efforts to give the Yacht User prior notice and an opportunity to remedy.

Suspension or termination does not exempt the Yacht User from the payment obligations arising from confirmed Bookings, nor from the cancellation conditions accepted in respect of those Bookings. Provisions which by their nature are intended to survive termination, including Articles 15, 18, 19, 20, 23 and 24, shall continue to apply.

Article 18 - Intellectual Property

All rights, title and interest in and to the Platform, including the underlying software, source code, databases, design, layout, graphics, trademarks, logos, trade names, domain names, text, images, audio, video, scoring algorithms and any other content made available on the Platform, are owned by Docking or licensed to Docking by third parties. No rights, licence or interest of any kind are granted to the Yacht User other than a limited, personal, revocable, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sub-licensable right to access and use the Platform for the User’s own personal and non-commercial purposes, in accordance with these Terms.

The Yacht User undertakes not to reproduce, modify, translate, adapt, decompile, disassemble, reverse engineer or create derivative works of the Platform or of any of its components, save to the extent expressly authorised by mandatory provisions of applicable law. Any feedback or suggestion submitted by the Yacht User in relation to the Platform may be used by Docking without restriction and without compensation.

Article 19 - Limitation of Liability

Docking acts solely as an intermediary and shall not be liable for the quality, safety, fitness, lawfulness or actual provision of berthing services, for the availability of berths, or for any damage, loss, delay, injury, theft, denial of access or other consequence arising from the acts or omissions of any Marina, any other Yacht User or any third party.

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Docking shall not be liable for indirect, consequential, punitive or special damages, loss of profit, loss of revenue, loss of data, loss of business opportunity, loss of reputation or loss of expected savings. The aggregate liability of Docking towards the Yacht User in respect of any Booking shall, to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, be limited to the amount of the Service Fee actually paid by the Yacht User to Docking in respect of that Booking.

Nothing in these Terms shall be construed as excluding or limiting the liability of Docking for fraud, gross negligence, wilful misconduct, death or personal injury caused by negligence, or any other liability that cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law, including under mandatory consumer protection legislation.

Article 20 - Personal Data

Personal data of the Yacht User is processed in accordance with the Privacy Policy published on the Platform, which forms an integral part of these Terms. The Privacy Policy describes, among other things, the categories of personal data processed, the purposes and legal bases of the processing, the recipients of the data, the international transfer mechanisms used, the retention periods, and the rights available to the data subject under Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (the General Data Protection Regulation) and other applicable data protection legislation.

Article 21 - Amendments

Docking may amend these Terms from time to time, in particular to reflect changes in features of the Platform, in applicable law, in payment-processing arrangements or in commercial conditions. Updated Terms shall be published on the Platform with an updated version date and shall enter into force on the date of publication, save where a specific later effective date is announced.

Substantive changes that materially modify the rights and obligations of Yacht Users shall be notified to active Account holders by reasonable means in advance of their entry into force, including by email notification or in-Platform notice. Continued use of the Platform after entry into force of an updated version of these Terms constitutes acceptance of those updated Terms; Yacht Users who do not wish to accept the updated Terms may terminate their Account in accordance with Article 4. Bookings already confirmed at the time of entry into force of updated Terms continue to be governed by the Terms in force at the time of Booking, except in respect of provisions whose modification is required by applicable law.

Article 22 - Force Majeure (Operational)

Docking shall not be liable for any failure or delay in the performance of its obligations to the Yacht User to the extent caused by events beyond its reasonable control, including without limitation natural events, fires, floods, storms, earthquakes, pandemics, acts of war or terrorism, civil unrest, governmental measures, internet or telecommunications outages, third-party hosting or payment-processing failures, denial-of-service or other cyber-attacks, or industrial action.

Article 23 - Miscellaneous

If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect, and the invalid, illegal or unenforceable provision shall be replaced by a valid provision reflecting as closely as possible the original commercial intent of the parties. The failure of Docking to enforce any right or provision of these Terms shall not be deemed a waiver of that right or provision.

The Yacht User may not assign, transfer or sub-contract any of their rights or obligations under these Terms without the prior written consent of Docking. Docking may assign or transfer its rights and obligations under these Terms, in whole or in part, to any of its affiliates or to a successor in interest in the context of a corporate reorganisation, sale of assets or change of control.

These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and the Booking Terms applicable to a particular Booking, constitute the entire agreement between the Yacht User and Docking in respect of the use of the Platform and supersede any previous communications, representations or agreements relating to that subject-matter.

Article 24 - Governing Law and Jurisdiction

These Terms are governed by the laws of Portugal. Any dispute arising out of or in connection with these Terms or the use of the Platform shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Lisbon, Portugal, save where a Yacht User qualifying as a consumer under applicable law is entitled, by virtue of mandatory consumer protection rules, to bring proceedings before the courts of their country of residence, in which case those rules shall prevail.

Yacht Users qualifying as consumers and resident in the European Union may also access the European Commission’s Online Dispute Resolution platform at https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr.

In the event of any discrepancy between language versions of these Terms, the English version shall prevail.

Contact

Docking, LDA.

Rua do Outeiro 2, 2F S7, 4050-452 Porto, Portugal

Email: general@docking.app

Website: https://docking.app