Clause 9: Sistership
Should the vessel hereby insured come into collision with or receive salvage services from another vessel belonging wholly or in part to the same Owners or under the same management, the Assured shall have the same rights under this insurance as they would have were the other vessel entirely the property of Owners not interested in the vessel hereby insured; but in such cases the liability for the collision or the amount payable for the services rendered shall be referred to a sole arbitrator to be agreed upon between the Underwriters and the Assured.
CompareComments to ITCH
ITCH Cl. 9 relates to vessels under the same ownership. In case of a collision between the insured vessel and another vessel owned by the assured, the insurer have to pay compensation for damage or other losses suffered by the other vessel as though it was owned by a third party. This applies however only to another vessel owned by the assured and not to other property such as a jetty or quay.
The same applies in case of salvage services rendered to the insured vessel by another vessel owned by the assured: the insurer is liable to pay compensation as if the salvage operation had been carried out by a third party.
NMIP Comparison
According to NMIP Cl. 4-16 the insurer is liable for loss sustained by the assured when an object belonging to the assured is damaged in such circumstances that the assured himself would have become liable for the loss if the object had belonged to a third party. Clause 4-16 refers to objects belonging to the assured and would therefore not only include vessels of same ownership, but for example damage to a quay, jetty or wharf, which gives a wider coverage than ITCH.
The case of salvage services rendered to the insured vessel by another vessel owned by the assured is dealt with separately in NMIP Cl. 10-11. Coverage is the same as under ITCH Cl. 9. If the ship is salvaged by another vessel belonging to the assured, the insurer is liable as if the salvage operation had been carried out by a third party.