Charter: Emergency call from the charter yacht - who pays for the rescue?

A case from the sailing scene, the background to which is also interesting for pleasure boaters: A German crew was on a sailing yacht in the Aegean on its way back from Santorini to Kos with the day's destination Astypalea, in crisp Meltemi conditions with winds of around 20-25 knots. The plan was to anchor after around 50 nautical miles in the very sheltered bay of Vathy on the north-east side of the island. "We actually wanted to arrive in the last light of the day, but the beat on the wind dragged on, so it was already 10 p.m. and dark when we were about two miles upwind of the island just before the bay," reports co-skipper Peter Schnittker. "There was a bang. I was just below deck, but then I heard helmsman Kai shout that he no longer had a rudder. Of course, we immediately hoisted the sails and started the engine, but quickly realised that this wasn't going to get us anywhere as the rudder was acting up and no longer responding at all." With the hastily installed emergency tiller, the ship could only be controlled to a limited extent. The boat could only be kept on course in the rough seas with enormous effort from two people under motor.

Due to the strong winds of 20 to 25 knots and two to three metre high waves from the north-west, the crew decided not to attempt the planned, relatively narrow approach to the bay in the north, but instead to go east around the island to head for the main port of Astypalea in the south-west in leeward protection. As the accident happened in a leeward position on the northern shore, the skipper and co-skipper decided to send out a pan-pan call to request help quickly if necessary.

The charter holiday suddenly turns into a threatening situation

Just two minutes later, the Greek coastguard in Athens relayed the message to the Kalymnos coastal radio station, which then informed the crew shortly afterwards that the excursion boat "Kallasopuli" was on its way to them. However, it was still almost two hours before they arrived. "After we were relieved that we were being helped so quickly, we started to feel anxious again, as we didn't know what had actually happened. Is water perhaps leaking in somewhere?" reports Peter Schnitker. After inspecting the bilge, this was fortunately not the case and when the "Kallasopuli", an excursion boat about 20 metres long, finally surfaced, the damaged yacht was even able to follow the salvage vessel down the east coast to the south-eastern cape into calmer waters under its own power. The crew is delighted that everything turned out so well, the situation was quite a challenge for everyone. They take the tow rope of the "Kallasopuli" and are brought to Astipalyea harbour.

The crew does not realise at this point that they have acted contrary to the charter contract. This is because, as in many contracts in the industry, the general terms and conditions explicitly stipulate that before accepting towing assistance, it must be agreed in advance what will be charged for the assistance. Almost every charter base also provides crews with a 24-hour emergency mobile phone number for such emergencies, which should be contacted without fail. As a rule, this is the number of the base management.

That's easier said than done for a holiday crew in a threatening situation, at night in a lot of wind on Legerwall, of course, common sense would probably say: "Necessity knows no commandment" - just do it.

The legal situation is clear

Legally, the consequence of utilising towing assistance without prior agreement is relatively clearly regulated, as Ben Tanis, lawyer at European Yachting Lawyers, the law firm Tanis von der Mosel, explains:

"If there was no agreement on salvage or towing charges, the Lloyds Open Form (LOF) applies in accordance with an international agreement. It is a well-known and internationally accepted contract for salvage in the shipping industry, which makes further contractual negotiations between the salvage company and the ship's command unnecessary in an emergency. There is a widespread opinion on the Internet that this is a 'fair' contract. The phrase 'no cure - no pay' is the best-known of the provisions. In fact, the Lloyds Open Form is a contract developed for commercial shipping, which is based on the 'International Convention on Salvage 1989(International Convention on Salvage of 1989) and does not set the salvage contractor's wage in concrete terms, but makes it dependent on a variety of factors, such as the value of the ship, the value of the cargo, the damage caused by the salvage and the environmental damage prevented and, in case of doubt, submits it for review by a specialised British court. Salvage wages amounting to 10 % of the value of the ship are not uncommon. If the situation allows, we always recommend that a crew member who has been involved in an accident should first contact the charter base or their own hull insurance company to discuss how to proceed. Both usually have emergency hotlines that are available around the clock."

We always recommend that a crew involved in an accident first contact the charter base or their own hull insurance company."

An enquiry with yacht insurer Pantaenius reveals that experience with the Lloyd's Open Form contract has been thoroughly positive. They estimate that the usual salvage margins are often around 10 per cent. However, this of course also depends on the circumstances of the salvage.

Other people's line or your own, towing aid or rescue?

In many skipper circles, the opinion still circulates on this topic that high costs only arise if you take over someone else's line, but if you use your own, it is not a rescue with corresponding claims, but only towing assistance. However, this is not correct, notes lawyer Tanis.

But back to the case of the charter crew. When the crew arrived at the ferry quay in Astypalea, they were met by the coastguard, who immediately confiscated the ship's documents and logbook. The ship is chained up for the time being. This is a common procedure for damage to charter yachts when the authorities become aware of the case, as happened here. The charter company's repair service repaired the yacht the very next day. The cause of the accident was simply a broken 5 mm screw in the wheel flange on the starboard wheel. This caused the wheel to tilt so much that the steering chain came loose and the steering cable jumped off the rudder coker. A surveyor then has to release the ship, which is a little more complicated, so the crew loses another day.

Captain demanded 100,000 euros salvage fee

The Oceanis 45 was then allowed to set sail again and the crew made their way directly to the home marina on the island of Kos to check out so as not to miss the return flights. And indeed, the skipper and his companions learnt in the office of the base manager of the chartering company that the captain of the "Kallasopuli" had meanwhile demanded a salvage fee of 100,000 euros. But probably only after the charter fleet had rejected an initial, significantly lower offer.

"Of course we didn't expect that. But I could understand that the captain was initially rattling the chains. I often take part in court proceedings for professional reasons and I know that the maximum claim is often put on the table first and in the end a settlement is reached that is significantly lower," says Peter Schnitker.

Although the salvage claims are against the owner, in this case the charter company, the latter tries to take recourse against the crew. After the return journey to Germany, a lively discussion begins with the charter company and the crew, or rather their charter agency 1A Yachtcharter, with whom the Germans had booked, which now mediates between the two sides.

Which insurance applies?

The next steps are discussed together with the agency. Firstly, it was important to know that salvage claims are always insurance claims. As skipper liability insurance had been taken out, it was important to find out whether the insurance would pay for the incident or whether the owner's hull insurance would have to step in.

However, the insurance company categorised the salvage as hull damage. In this case, this meant that the costs for the crew were fortunately capped over and above the deposit.

In the meantime, the charter company had also been able to reach an agreement with the captain of the "Kallasopuli" on a fair salvage fee of 8,000 euros, so that the incident ended lightly for all parties involved. The possible question of whether the damage was not a defect in the boat, for which the charter company is responsible, is not questioned further. The crew accepts the retention of the deposit and the owner's insurance covers the rest.

However, Marvin Kather from 1a Yachtcharter has one last tip: "We generally recommend that all customers take out deposit insurance. This usually amounts to less than ten per cent of the deposit amount and covers the retention of the deposit in the event of damage, whether justified or unjustified."