Insurance Update At Sea – Maritime News On the marine scene, what is the latest buzz? Well the Charter Companies are reporting strong bookings, and so that is encouraging.  However there are some serious concerns which do need addressing – if we sample some of the blogs.

The first of these is the relatively new problem of organized dinghy thefts – a far cry from the random ‘teefing’ of yester year.  And who are the victims of these organized crimes?  Not the Charter Companies, but the individual charterer who loses his significant deposit.

The second is the significant rise in robberies from charter boats whilst the charters are at dinner in the favourite restaurant ashore.  Why so?  The innocent charterers are VHF-ing reservations at the restaurants and announcing the name of their vessel.  What an invitation to a thief targeting electronics and anything else left around by the charter guests.

Then – an old chestnut of mine – lack of moorings maintenance.  Charters pay handsomely for the comfort of picking up a mooring overnight in a pleasant anchorage.  They have a right to expect that the mooring is secure, but that is not always the case.  The standard of maintenance of the moorings laid by the long established Companies is excellent, but there are mavericks who don’t want to take the responsibility which goes with the collection of income.  The results can be dangerous to life and limb, and very costly in terms of damage to yachts.  At the risk of appearing to feather my own nest, I would like to see some legislation which makes insurance for the liabilities for laying moorings mandatory.