Insurance company must pay for sunken dive boat

On the civil side of the judicial docket, a dive resort has prevailed in a legal dispute over a sunken boat. In a case decided last month but entered into the record this week, Justice Samuel Awich has ruled that Lighthouse Reef Resort is entitled to collect a four hundred and twenty thousand dollar claim against Regent Insurance Company, for the sinking of its dive boat in May of 2002. The vessel in question went down in rough seas near Long Caye, taking on water after a piece of line became wrapped around its propeller. The insurance company had denied the claim, asserting that the boat has been modified without informing the company, making it much more susceptible to sinking. The vessel’s owner testified that the insurance company’s agent had in fact inspected the craft and did not find anything out of line. According to the ruling, the boat’s salvage value will be subtracted from the four hundred and twenty thousand dollar verdict.