The two sides have fenced for five years until the row erupted again early last month after the BMF apparently gave up trying to talk to the BW hierarchy.

The BMF then served BW with a demand under the Freedom Of Information Act for information on "the measures it has implemented to ensure that BW operates fairly and on an equal footing in every respect in the marinas and moorings market in which it has decided to compete with private operators".

The two sides are further apart now than at any time in the past five years.

BBasked both sides what it would take to get back to the negotiations table again.

Robin Evans, chief executive of BW said: "The BMF's withdrawal of the ultimatum that unless we agree with their legal opinion they don't want to talk to us any more.

"We wish to park the legal issue. We want to talk about the real issue, of making sure we have the process in place to trade fairly. I want the trade to know I am absolutely committed to fair trading."

The same question to John Clarke, chief executive of the BMF brought the answer: "It's quite simple. BW has chosen to compete in the marinas and mooring market. There's no problem with that. The Waterways Minister at the time said there might be issues of competition. Three years after that we started to get rumblings from our membership there were things that didn't look right. So where we've been going since then is trying to make sure BW has in place the appropriate procedures to ensure there is fair competition.

"They've been at it for over five years and this is disgraceful. They still cannot tell us in words of one syllable how they conduct compliance and competition law."

See BB's editorial comment on page 2 and verbatim statements from BW and the BMF beginning on page 18.