Caught in insurance crossfire
Cairns Inlet boaties believe they’ll be ‘kicked off’ moorings
DOZENS of Trinity Inlet live-aboard skippers could be left homeless by a Ports North decision to enforce comprehensive insurance coverage.
Up to 70 pile moorings owned by Ports North on the eastern side of Trinity Inlet are leased to boat owners and provide safe and secure vessel berthing.
Ports North correspondence to pile and swing mooring leaseholders in April that asked boaties to show evidence of insurance has some vessel owners anxious about difficulties in securing comprehensive policies.
Owner of a wooden 17m Buchanan ketch currently tied up to a Ports North pylon, Steve Bircher described the situation as a classic catch-22.
“You can’t get insurance until you come out of the water but you can’t get out of the water without insurance,” he said.
“Ports North and Maritime Safety Queensland are fully aware you can’t get insurance.”
Mr Bircher said the situation had come to a head recently after a vessel sank on its mooring.
A Ports North spokeswoman confirmed the incident involving an uninsured yacht and stated the marine authority was forced to pick up a $40,000 salvage bill.
Former Cairns Cruising Yacht Squadron vice commodore and live-aboard boatie Stephen Shedden said it was a frustrating situation.
“I can’t get insurance. So I’m on the anchor now and I have just been informed they want to shift us,” he said.
Another live-aboard boatie, Norm Gunn, said insurance companies were wary of underwriting boats due to cyclone risk and the difficulty for companies to prove fraudulent claims.
“It’s very expensive. So most people carry their own insurance, that is they don’t have any,” he said.
“Boats are ripe for insurance fraud.”
The alleged reluctance of Ports North to renew the Cruising Yacht Squadron waterfront lease had Mr Bircher suspecting insurance compliance was part of a broader vision for the Port of Cairns.
“We are being kicked off the piles; they are squeezing all the recreational vessels out of the inlet,” he said.
“People are panicking and don’t know what to do.”
The Ports North spokeswoman said insurance requirements for pile berthing vessels were not new.
“There is no change in boat owners’ responsibilities and obligations,” she said.
“Ports North has simply asked for evidence to support the requirement.
“MSQ legislation requires all ships over 15m … to have enough insurance to pay for potential pollution clean-up, salvage and wreck removal.”