It has been nearly a year since the schooner Sorca began to sink, but the legal battle between the ship’s captain and the vessel’s insurer continues to rage.
Captain Rick Welsford made a $400,000 insurance claim for the Sorca, which sank sometime around May 27, 2017. However, insurer Lloyd's Underwriters refused to pay the claim. Welsford – through his company Think Sail – subsequently sued the insurer.
In its statement of defense, Lloyd's Underwriters claims that it had imposed a limit on the Sorca, which was required to remain in Canadian East Coast-Atlantic waters. But prior to the sinking incident, Welsford and his crew of three had been sailing from Lunenburg, NS, to Bermuda to take part in Rendez-Vous Tall Ships celebrations – potentially voiding the policy.
Welsford disputed the insurer’s claim, and said that the ship was in Atlantic Canadian waters at the time of the sinking. He also added that he had stated in writing to his insurance broker, Arthur J. Gallagher Canada, his intention of sailing to the Caribbean.
The captain is also suing Arthur J. Gallagher Canada, saying that the broker had an obligation to warn him if he was about to violate his policy and to relay his sailing plans to Lloyd's Underwriters.
"I'm confident in the system, meaning the insurance system," Welsford told CBC News, self-assured that he would receive his due. "I'm confident that when all the written evidence is on the table that it will get resolved."
The lawyers representing Lloyd's Underwriters and Gallagher have refused to comment on the case.
Another lawyer not involved in the case said that it is typical for ships to be restricted on where they can go based on factors such as the vessel’s size, age, and condition.
"Marine insurance policies are typically very strictly applied, according to what's written in them in black and white," Halifax lawyer William Moreira told CBC News. "That this kind of a problem should end up in court is not unusual."
Moreira added that the restrictions exist for safety reasons, since the further from shore a boat goes, the longer it could take for help to arrive should an emergency occur.
