Business Insurance News

Operating on both land and water, ship repairers and marine equipment installers tackle a variety of tasks from general maintenance and repair, to upgrading electrical systems, to installing state-of-the-art navigational systems. Along with these tasks comes a wide array of maritime risk exposures, both large and small, for which the business owner needs to be adequately protected. The tasks of an electrician or welder are challenging enough on their own, but try to do this work on a vessel at sea or in a shipyard, and the technician will find that the hazard level rises dramatically – from making sure that all facets of the systems work together as they should, to the increased fire risk hot welding presents to the safety of the vessel.

The European Commission is taking steps to make the dismantling of ships safer and less damaging to the environment. In a consultation paper published May 22, the commission does not present a completed plan but suggests actions to be taken in the European Union until the process now underway to develop an international convention on safe ship recycling is completed. E.U. member states need to take action on protecting workers and the environment until that time, Stavros Dimas, the E.C.’s environment commissioner, pointed out in a statement. The E.C.’s so-called “green paper” calls for a financing scheme to fund ship dismantling, which could come from levies on the shipping industry.

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that the marine coverage endorsement on the business insurance purchased by a ship operator did not provide coverage for the on-shore work being performed by a seaman when he was injured. Thus, while the ship operator was liable, under the Jones Act, to the seaman for his injuries, it was unable to recoup those monies from the business insurance company, since the policy only covered work performed on the ship. Source: HK Law