SHU Shiyun v. PICC Property and Casualty Company Limited Luzhou Branch

Abstract

Plaintiff, owner of the self-unloading sand ship M.V. “Fu Qiang 2”, paid compensation to the family of a crew member, SHU Mou (who happened to be Plaintiff’s sibling) after SHU Mou was killed in an explosion. SHU Mou was the captain of M.V. “Fu Qiang 2”, and was listed as a crew member in the crew member liability insurance that Plaintiff had bought from Defendant. The explosion occurred on the life boat of a dredger, “Jiangyue”. The life boat had loaded fuel on shore and was being used to refuel “Jiangyue” when the explosion occurred. Plaintiff was co-owner of “Jiangyue”, as well as being sole owner of “Fu Qiang 2”. After compensating SHU Mou’s family, Plaintiff made a claim on his crew member insurance policy with Defendant, which denied cover, so Plaintiff sued. The Court held that Plaintiff’s claim failed, because SHU Mou’s job description was as captain of “Fu Qiang 2”, and the insurance policy did not cover him when doing work for “Jiangyue” from its life boat. Although he was co-owner and operator of “Jiangyue”, Plaintiff had not bought crew member liability insurance for “Jiangyue”.