Mortg age on the vessel . Were it not for the fact that banks and. 

 other~creditors require hull insurance on the mortgaged vessels, the 

 number of vessels -vrLth no hull insuraince might have been much greater 

 in all three areas. Table 5 shows that in all areas the percentage of 

 ins\ired vessels with mortgage is higher than sample percentage. An 

 owner commented that he "would not have carried insurance if the boat 

 were not mortgaged," and einother: "Not insured in 1950-51 because the 

 cost was too high. It is insured now to protect the mortgage'." Paying 

 up the mortgage is sometimes cited as the reason for discontinuing hull 

 insurance: "Had insurance only while boat was mortgsigedL" 



Protection and Indemnity Insurance 



Ownership . Captain ownership, or one-vessel ownership seems to 

 be related also to noninsurance for protection and indemnity. As a 

 rule, supervision and control of fishing opsrations is much greater 

 in this case which, as it was shown, makes the owner feel that there 

 is no need for protection and indemnity insurance when "vessel is 

 captained by owner I" The owner's confidence that an injured crewman 

 will not go to the courts for personal mishap sustained on the job 

 thus rests sometimes on the policy of the captain-OT-mer toward hi.s 

 crew, even when no other relation exists between owner and crew. 

 One captain erroneously thinks "Crew works on share basis — no protection 

 and indemnity deemed necessary by captain and crew'." In another case 

 the captain-owner followed an equally practical policy which also 

 demonstrates the importance of trust and personal intimacy vrLth his 

 crew: "I felt it would he cheaper to pay my help his salary while he 

 is off than to carry protection and indemnity insurance." 



Owner's relation to crew . Family ties, however, between owner 

 (usually captain owners) and crew seems to be an overwhelming factor 

 for noninsurance for protection and indemnity. It is almost taken for 

 greinted that a family boat does not need .this kind of insurance. 

 Occasionally, the owner's comments reveal the presence of an explicit 

 agreement among the relatives: "Relations axe running boat and it was 

 agreed they would be self-insuredl" Thus the proportion of insured 

 vessels \d.th an owner-related crew is lower than the sample (table 5)» 

 The Gulf Area is again the exception for the same reason previously 

 mentioned, i.e., extensive noninsurance of vessels owned by dealers 

 or processors. 



Mortgage on the vessel . According to existing maritime legislation, 

 claims of crewmen for wages arising from personal injury, etc., while 

 in the "service of the vessel" are considered a "preferred maritime 

 lien," i.e., they have priority over all other liens, including 

 mortgage on the vessel. Thus, the law may actually compel an owner 

 to carry more insurance than he ordinsirily would and a new mortgage 

 may be a reason for insuring a previously noninsured vessel. 



29 



