An unintended hole or fissure in a vessel containing or immersed in a fluid, which lets the fluid pass into or out of the vessel; i.e. damage to the hullplating, or defects in watertight closures such as deck hatches or side scuttles.
Take for example a $150,000 yacht, which is purposefully grounded by its owner because he can’t find the source of a leak. If a marine tower were called and agreed to assist the vessel on an hourly-rate basis, then repaired the leak and pulled the boat off in 4 to 5 hours, and billed for its work at an hourly-rate, the cost might be $500 to $600.