After the borough assembly agreed last month that a port commission proposal to require boat owners to carry marine insurance needed a lot more work, the two elected bodies got together last week to workshop changes.
The assembly and port commission were generally in consensus over details to be added to the original proposal, like a minimum required coverage, a maneuverability assessment of vessels, a minimum vessel size to require insurance, increased management rights to keep out unseaworthy boats, exemptions for transient vessels and the cost of a moorage surcharge for boat owners who opt out of carrying marine insurance.
The original proposal did not include a minimum coverage amount for marine insurance, but assembly and port commission members agreed that a minimum should be required and will be determined based on the insurance market.
The intent of the port commission effort has been to protect the borough, and other boat owners, from liability if an uninsured vessel burns or sinks and damages property nearby.
Commission and assembly members also agreed at their March 7 work session that there should be some form of maneuverability assessment, to ensure that boats in the harbor are seaworthy. There was discussion about how this may differ for floathouses.
Members also reached a consensus that the plan, which would be adopted as a borough ordinance, should exempt smaller boats. Mason Villarma, interim borough manager, suggested that boats under 30 feet in length should be exempt from the insurance requirement, as smaller boats pose less of a problem if they sink and typically don’t stay in the harbor year-round.
Increased management rights for the harbormaster were also generally agreed upon by the port commission and assembly members. In cases of a vessel owner opting out of the required insurance, members want the harbormaster to be able to require a third-party survey of the vessel’s condition.
There was also a consensus that the previously proposed price of $5 per vessel foot per month for the cost of the moorage surcharge in lieu of carrying insurance was too expensive, and that a lower price needs to be determined, with potential variability year to year. Juneau currently charges 31 cents a foot for a similar fee, Harbormaster Steve Miller reported at the workshop.
The intent of the monthly fee would be to build up an account for the Port and Harbors Department to cover salvage and damages caused by uninsured vessels.
An exception for requiring insurance from transient vessels was also discussed, though members did not settle on a preferred length of time before the insurance requirement would kick in.
The original insurance requirement proposal brought to the borough assembly in February did not include any stipulations defining marine insurance, nor was there a minimum insurance coverage amount required.
Currently, the borough spends roughly $30,000 a year on derelict vessel disposal, Villarma said.
Assembly and commission members all agreed that the borough needs to require some form of insurance. “The harbor just can’t keep footing the bill,” said Miller, and that requiring insurance is about protecting the community and the harbors.
A new proposal will be drafted for the next port commission meeting on April 4.
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