# Insurance for shipowners, ferry operators, passenger vessels and shipyards in Germany

> Water is where we feel at home: for boats and yachts NAMMERT is an Assekuradeur, an underwriting agency with its own tariffs and its own claims handling. For commercial shipping, ferry operators and shipyards we act as a broker and look for the right cover in the market. This page shows which insurance is compulsory there, what makes sense and what to expect.

Quelle/Source: https://www.nammert.com/en/business-insurance-shipping.php  
Updated: 2026-09-18

## Does NAMMERT also insure my passenger vessel or my shipyard?

Yes, but in a different role. For pleasure craft and yachts we are an Assekuradeur: we have our own tariffs and handle claims ourselves. For passenger vessels, ferries, cargo ships and shipyards we are a broker: we approach specialist insurers for hull and liability, compare their terms and support you when there is a claim. We put the knowledge from handling boat claims ourselves to work for you.

## At a glance

- **Compulsory:** In sea shipping, international conventions require liability cover backed by a certificate, for example for wreck removal, bunker oil pollution and liability towards passengers; on inland waterways there is no general obligation, but ports and clients demand it
- **Biggest risk:** Collisions, injuries to passengers and crew, environmental damage and, for shipyards, damage to customers' vessels
- **Basic cover from:** about €1,500 a year of public liability for shipyards and shore based businesses; hull and liability for the vessels themselves are priced individually
- **Statutory accident insurer:** the BG Verkehr is the Berufsgenossenschaft (statutory accident insurer) for sea and inland shipping; shipyards usually belong to the BG Holz und Metall
- **Often forgotten:** Damage to property in your care: customers' vessels in winter storage or in dock are usually excluded from standard liability policies
- **WZ 2025 / NACE:** 33.15 Reparatur und Instandhaltung von zivilen Schiffen, Booten und Yachten, 50.10 Personenbeförderung in der Hochsee- und Küstenschifffahrt, 50.20 Güterbeförderung in der Hochsee- und Küstenschifffahrt, 50.30 Personenbeförderung in der Binnenschifffahrt, 50.40 Güterbeförderung in der Binnenschifffahrt

## What goes wrong in this trade

- **Collision and allision:** Contact with a lock, a landing stage or another vessel: waterway structures and other ships are expensive, and so is the time they are out of use.
- **Passengers:** Falls on board, injuries while berthing, evacuation after an engine failure: liability towards passengers is strictly regulated.
- **Environment and wreck:** Leaking fuel, a vessel sunk in the fairway: oil clean up and wreck removal cost many times the vessel's value.
- **Customers' vessels at the yard:** When craning, in dock, in winter storage and on sea trials, shipyards are responsible for their customers' ships and yachts.
- **Machinery breakdown:** An engine or gearbox failure lays up a passenger vessel in the middle of the season.
- **Work on board and in dock:** Wet decks, lines, heavy loads and welding: the risk of accidents for crew and yard workers is high.

**Risk radar** (Compared with other trades, 1 low to 5 high.): Liability 5, Fire and water 5, Theft 2, Cyber 3, Downtime 4, Health 4

## The insurance you need

- **Business liability** (Essential): For shipyards, ports and shore based businesses, including damage to customers' vessels in your care; liability for the ships themselves goes through specialist insurers we approach for you. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-liability.php
- **Cargo insurance** (Strongly advised): Covers cargo and your liability as carrier in inland and coastal shipping. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-cargo-insurance.php
- **Machinery breakdown** (Strongly advised): Covers the yard's cranes, slipways, travel lifts and workshop machinery against breakdown and operating errors. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-machinery-breakdown.php
- **Commercial buildings** (Strongly advised): Covers sheds, workshops and landing stages you own, including storm surge where natural hazards are included. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-commercial-buildings.php
- **Business interruption** (Strongly advised): Pays fixed costs and lost income if the yard or passenger vessel is out of action after physical damage. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-business-interruption.php
- **Group accident insurance** (Depends on the business): Extra accident cover for crew and yard workers beyond what the Berufsgenossenschaft pays. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-group-accident.php
- **Cyber insurance** (Depends on the business): Covers booking systems in passenger shipping and networked ship systems. https://www.nammert.com/en/insurance-broker-cyber-insurance.php

## What it costs: example prices

Commercial shipping has no published rate sheets. Specialist insurers price hull and liability for vessels by value, trading area, passenger numbers and claims history. For shipyards and shore based businesses the premiums are easier to pin down.

| Insurance | Example | Typical range |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Business liability | Small shipyard or boatbuilder with ten staff, damage to vessels in care included | about €1,500 to €4,000 a year |
| Machinery breakdown | Travel lift and crane worth €400,000 | about €2,000 to €4,500 a year |
| Commercial buildings | Yard shed with workshop, rebuild value €1.5 million | about €1,500 to €3,500 a year |
| Group accident insurance | Per crew member or yard worker, €100,000 disability benefit | about €80 to €180 a year per person |

For comparison: Public liability for a small shipyard costs about as much a year as craning out and winterising two or three sailing yachts.

_Guide prices excluding German insurance premium tax from our own quoting work, as of September 2026. The machinery figures are based on published examples of about 1 per cent of the sum insured. We obtain hull and liability for commercial vessels individually; boats and yachts we price on our own tariffs._

- [Deutsche Flagge: Haftung und Versicherung in der Seeschifffahrt](https://www.deutsche-flagge.de/de)
- [BG Verkehr: Binnen- und Seeschifffahrt](https://www.bg-verkehr.de/)
- [Bernhard Assekuranz: Maschinenbruchversicherung, Kosten und Vergleich](https://bernhard-assekuranz.com/maschinenversicherung/maschinenbruchversicherung-kosten-vergleich/)

## Our suggestions: three packages

- **Boatbuilding** (Boatbuilders, engine workshops and small winter storage): Business liability, Machinery breakdown, Commercial buildings. Together: about €4,000 to €10,000 a year
- **Shipyard** (Shipyard with dock, cranes, sheds and employed staff): Business liability, Machinery breakdown, Commercial buildings, Business interruption, Group accident insurance. Together: about €10,000 to €30,000 a year
- **Shipowner** (Passenger or cargo shipping with its own shore operation): Business liability, Cargo insurance, Business interruption, Group accident insurance, Cyber insurance. Together: priced individually, plus hull and liability for the vessels with specialist insurers

## The worst day on the quayside

Six events shipyards and shipping businesses really know, all on one day in October. Tap through and see who pays.

- 07:30: Craning a customer's yacht into winter storage, a strap slips and the keel slams onto the pier. (€38,000, Paid by: Business liability)
- 09:50: The travel lift is losing hydraulic oil from a burst line, and the motor is damaged. (€22,000, Paid by: Machinery breakdown)
- 12:15: A welder falls from staging in the dock and is badly injured. (€15,000, Paid by: Group accident insurance)
- 14:40: On an inland vessel a load of steel coils shifts during discharge, and three coils are damaged. (€26,000, Paid by: Cargo insurance)
- 18:00: Storm surge: half a metre of water stands in the yard shed. (€140,000, Paid by: Commercial buildings)
- 18:30: The yard is at a standstill for six weeks and repair jobs go elsewhere. (€95,000, Paid by: Business interruption)

**Damage so far:** €336,000

## Practical tips from your broker

- Shipyards need damage to customers' vessels in their care named expressly in their liability cover, with a limit that matches the most valuable vessel in storage.
- Sea trials with customers' vessels must be covered; many policies do not include this automatically.
- Near the coast, storm surge and flooding belong in buildings and contents cover, otherwise the most typical loss is missing.
- Depending on size and use, seagoing vessels need compulsory certificates for wreck removal, bunker oil and passenger liability, which must be carried on board.
- Have machinery breakdown and business interruption aligned, especially for passenger vessels with a short season.
- You can refer your customers' boats and yachts straight to us: we have our own tariffs for them as an Assekuradeur.

## Why NAMMERT for your business

- **Underwriting agency for boats, broker for commercial shipping:** For boats and yachts we write our own tariffs and handle claims ourselves. For shipyards, ferries and shipowners we compare offers from specialist insurers as a broker.
- **We know losses on the water:** Crane damage, winter storage, storm surge: we handle cases like these ourselves in boat insurance, and we use that knowledge for your yard.
- **Yard and customers in one place:** Your business insurance runs through us, and your customers can insure their yachts with us. That shortens the path when something happens in winter storage.
- **Family run since 1989:** Free for you in our broker role; the insurer pays our commission. You speak to people who know ships and harbours.

## FAQ

### Is NAMMERT an insurer or a broker for ships?

For boats and yachts we are an Assekuradeur, an underwriting agency with our own tariffs and our own claims handling. For commercial shipping, ferries and shipyards we are a broker and place the risk with specialist insurers.

### Which insurance is compulsory in sea shipping?

Depending on vessel size and use, liability cover for wreck removal, bunker oil pollution and towards passengers, each with an official certificate. The details depend on flag, size and trading area.

### Is there compulsory insurance on inland waterways?

There is no general legal obligation. But ports, lock operators and clients regularly ask for proof of liability cover.

### Are customers' yachts in winter storage covered by the yard?

Only if the yard's liability includes damage to property in its care and the yard is at fault. Damage that is nobody's fault, such as from a storm, is only covered by the owner's hull insurance.

### Which Berufsgenossenschaft is responsible?

For sea and inland shipping the BG Verkehr. Shipyards and boatbuilders usually belong to the BG Holz und Metall, the statutory accident insurer for wood and metal trades.

### What does insurance for a small shipyard cost?

Liability, machinery and buildings usually come to €4,000 to €10,000 a year for a small boatbuilding business, depending on sheds, cranes and the value of vessels in storage.

## Request quotes

We obtain quotes and come back with a comparison. Free of charge and without obligation: the insurer pays our commission. You can write in English. https://www.nammert.com/en/business-insurance-shipping.php#anfrage

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NAMMERT Assekuradeur GmbH, insurance broker licensed under section 34d(1) of the German Trade Regulation Act, broker register no. D-C08Q-TOSD4-37. For boat and yacht insurance we act as underwriting agency, not as broker.

NAMMERT Assekuradeur GmbH, Karl-Marx-Straße 4, 15711 Königs Wusterhausen, +49 3375 29 12 77, info@nammert.com. Wikidata: Q141141479.