Splash
Do You Need Boat Ramp Insurance?
As of March 1, boats 26 feet and longer need $100,000 in insurance to operate in Hawai‘i. Vessel owners of any size who have grounded a vessel in the past also need insurance.
The following are some questions from Splash! to the Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation (DOBOR) about the insurance requirement.
Splash!: What legislation passed the requirement?
DOBOR: “H.B. 1033 (2019)/Act 094 (2019), passed April 30, 2019, signed June 7, 2019, under HRS 13.5.”
Splash!: Did DOBOR get stakeholder input on this?
DOBOR: “The law came about through legislation. The Legislature held its own public hearings on the bill.”
Splash!: How much did DOBOR spend from the Special Boating Fund in 2019 on salvaging/removing/dumping derelict boats?
“Since 2002, DOBOR has removed 92 grounded or abandoned derelict vessels from state waters at a cost of $2.34 million (Special Fund). There have been 389 documented vessel groundings/sinkings in DOBOR’s records since 2002. DOBOR suspects many, many more groundings have occurred which have not been reported. DOBOR instituted mandatory insurance for vessels in its facilities as a condition of the mooring permit on December 1, 2009, resulting in a reduction in the number of vessels it has had to remove and dispose of. Salvaging/removing/dumping of impounds is
