Oakland is grappling with a growing problem that extends beyond its streets into the serene waters of the estuary. Property crime has spilled onto the city’s docks and marinas, where boat owners are becoming increasingly vulnerable to thefts and burglaries.

It’s 2035 and a maritime court has convened to determine who’s at fault when a seagoing vessel made an error in passage planning -- a safety exercise that maps a voyage from start to finish, including harbour navigation and docking.

Choice of law clauses are a valuable tool for parties to preemptively decide which jurisdiction’s laws should apply to the enforcement and interpretation of insurance policies.

Flames engulfed a marina in Seattle’s University District, burning dozens of boats early Wednesday. According to the Seattle Fire Department, as many as 30 boats at a dry rack storage facility were burning when firefighters arrived and the fire had spread to an adjacent warehouse.

Fire and explosion incidents are behind the most expensive insurance claims in the marine industry, while cargo damage is the most frequent cause of loss, according to a report by Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS).

Heather O’Brien’s phone hasn’t stopped ringing in the two weeks since Hurricane Ian hit. O’Brien, who along husband Capt. Pat O’Brien has owned the Fort Myers Sea Tow franchise since 1996, already has responded to ‘hundreds’ of situations where boats were sunk or displaced or need to be recovered because of the storm.

Property and casualty insurance providers across the country wrote more than $797 billion in premiums in 2021, generating about $767 billion in earned premiums, the latest industry report from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (NAIC) has revealed.

On Friday, August 19, a huge fire ripped through the historic and family-owned Mattapoisett Boatyard in southern Massachusetts, a short distance south of MWL’s Boston office. The fire destroyed five buildings, three dozen cars, and countless expensive boats.

A huge fire at a marina in Mattapoisett, Massachusetts, on Friday left several boats and vehicles as burned-out shells and produced a plume of black smoke so thick it was picked up by weather radar.

Ocean transportation procurement teams and vessel owners alike would do well to pay close attention to the effects of recent notable maritime perils that have triggered claims for general average.