The Treasure Seeker when it was still in good shape. Photo flickr.com
St. Maarten News – A local marina demands more than $1 million in damages from the owners of the Treasure Seeker, a pseudo pirate ship that crashed during Hurricane Gonzalo on October 12, 2014 into the wall and the floating dock of the marina. The Treasure Seeker was a 20-meter long ferry, built in 1949 and weighing around 72 tons.
The Treasure Seeker entertained tourists and children in a pirate atmosphere, but after the hurricane it went out of business.
Most of the damages were done to the so-called floating dinghy dock. They are estimated at $91,450.
The captain of the Treasure Seeker, whose name is not mentioned in the ruling that appeared on rechtspraak.nl, contests that he is the owner of the Treasure Seeker, but that it belongs to a company established under Florida law in St. Petersburg.
The court could not establish that this American company still owned the vessel when it crashed into the facilities of the marina. The court gave the captain the opportunity to prove that he was not the owner. “If the defendant succeeds in proving this, then the demands by the plaintiff must be rejected,” the court ruled. “In that case it is clear that the captain is not the owner and that he therefor did not act wrongfully either.”
In case the captain does not manage to prove he is not the owner, it will be established that he is the owner, the court ruled. In that case the case will revolve around the question of the wrongful act. The court will rule on that issue after assessing the evidence. The case returns to civil court on April 5.
Marina sues pseudo pirate ship, but who’s the owner?
