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CLAIM SUMMARY / DETERMINATION 

Claim Number: S18010-0001 

Claimant: GEICO Marine Insurance Company 

Type of Claimant: Corporation 

Type of Claim: Property Damage 

Claim Manager: 

Amount Requested: $3,765.05 

FACTS: 

On January 18, 2018, an oil discharge was discovered in the vicinity of a pier west of Cannery 

Pier Hotel and Spa at 10 Basin Street, Astoria, Oregon. The discharge emanated from a 16’ X 6’ 

oil tank beneath the hotel’s pier on the Columbia River, a navigable water of the U.S. 

The oil spill was reported to the United States Coast Guard and Sector Columbia River personnel 

responded. The oil escaped the tank and migrated west toward the West End Mooring Basin 

marina, and eastward along the shoreline. Containment booms were placed to prevent migration 

of the oil, but the oil affected vessels and shorelines in the vicinity of the Cannery Pier Hotel. 

The Cannery Pier Hotel assumed initial responsibility as a “responsible party” for the spill.

CLAIMANT:

The Claimant, GEICO Marine Insurance Company (GEICO) is the subrogated insurer of a 41’ 

sailboat that was damaged by the oil spill. 

CLAIM:

GEICO seeks reimbursement of the value of the damage to the boat, four fenders, one buoy, and 

dock lines that were damaged by the oil. GEICO seeks the estimated value of the total damages 

in the amount of $3,765.05. 

APPLICABLE LAW: 

Under OPA 90, at 33 USC § 2702(a), responsible parties are liable for removal costs and 

damages resulting from the discharge of oil into navigable waters and adjoining shorelines, as 

described in Section 2702(b) of OPA 90. 

"Oil" is defined in relevant part, at 33 USC § 2701(23), to mean “oil of any kind or in any form, 

including petroleum, fuel oil, sludge, oil refuse, and oil mixed with wastes other than dredged 

spoil”. 

The Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund (OSLTF), which is administered by the NPFC, is available, 

pursuant to 33 USC §§ 2712(a)(4) and 2713 and the OSLTF claims adjudication regulations at 

33 CFR Part 136, to pay claims for uncompensated removal costs that are determined to be 

consistent with the National Contingency Plan and uncompensated damages. 
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Under 33 USC §2713(b)(2) and 33 CFR 136.103(d) no claim against the OSLTF may be 

approved or certified for payment during the pendency of an action by the claimant in court to 

recover the same costs that are the subject of the claim. See also, 33 USC §2713(c) and 33 CFR 

136.103(c)(2) [claimant election]. 

33 U.S.C. §2713(d) provides that “If a claim is presented in accordance with this section, 

including a claim for interim, short-term damages representing less than the full amount of 

damages to which the claimant ultimately may be entitled, and full and adequate compensation is 

unavailable, a claim for the uncompensated damages and removal costs may be presented to the 

Fund.” 

Under 33 CFR 136.105(a) and 136.105(e)(6), the claimant bears the burden of providing to the 

NPFC, all evidence, information, and documentation deemed necessary by the Director, NPFC, 

to support the claim. 

Under 33 CFR 136.105(b) each claim must be in writing, for a sum certain for each category of 

uncompensated damages or removal costs resulting from an incident. 

Damage claims must be presented within 3 years after the date on which the injury and its 

connection with the discharge in question were reasonably discoverable with the exercise of due 

care. 33 U.S.C. §2712(h)(2).

Under 33 CFR 136.105(a) and 136.105(e)(6), the claimant bears the burden of providing all 

evidence, information, and documentation deemed necessary by the Director, NPFC, to support 

the claim. 

The pertinent provisions of the regulations specifically relating to property damage claims 

follow:

33 CFR §136.213 Authorized claimants.

(a) A claim for injury to, or economic losses resulting from the destruction of, real or personal 

property may be presented only by a claimant either owning or leasing the property.

(b) Any claim for loss of profits or impairment of earning capacity due to injury to, destruction 

of, or loss of real or personal property must be included as subpart of the claim under this section 

and must include the proof required under §136.233.

33 CFR §136.215 Proof.

(a) In addition to the requirements of subparts A and B of this part, a claimant must establish—

(1) An ownership or leasehold interest in the property;

(2) That the property was injured or destroyed;

(3) The cost of repair or replacement; and

(4) The value of the property both before and after injury occurred.

33 CFR §136.217 Compensation allowable.

(a) The amount of compensation allowable for damaged property is the lesser of—

(1) Actual or estimated net cost of repairs necessary to restore the property to substantially the 

same condition which existed immediately before the damage;
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(2) The difference between value of the property before and after the damage; or

(3) The replacement value.

DETERMINATION: 

GEICO claimed $3,765.05 for damages to its insured’s sailboat and accessories. GEICO is 

eligible to submit this claim because it paid its insured for damages that resulted from this OPA 

incident and is, thus, subrogated to the damaged third party’s claim. 

To support this claim, GEICO provided the Certificate of Documentation showing its insured 

owned the property. GEICO also provided a surveyor’s report, which described the damages and 

included an estimate of the value of the damages. Further, GEICO provided photographs of the 

damage. The surveyor’s report and the photographs both show oil damage to the claimed 

property. Coast Guard records of the damaged vessels in the spill location list the insured’s 

vessel and the damaged property as being oiled. Thus, NPFC finds that the third party’s property 

was damaged by the OPA-oil discharge. 

With regard to valuation of the damages, the surveyor provided GEICO with estimates for the 

repair work, supplies, and haul-out, and attached Port of Astoria and Englund Marine written 

estimates supporting his valuation of these items. In turn, GEICO provided these to the NPFC. 

In addition to the repair cost estimates, GEICO provided replacement values and the difference 

in value before and after the injury to the property. GEICO has thus proven the damage and 

valuations sufficiently to satisfy the proof requirements of the regulations. 

Regarding the amount paid by GEICO, the OSLTF may only reimburse the lesser of the cost of 

repair, replacement value, or the difference between the value of the property before and after the 

damage. The repair value of the sailboat included the costs to haul out, prep the hull and re-paint 

the damaged portion and totaled $3,389.68. The estimated value of the boat was $75,000 prior to 

the damage and was $71,234.95 after the damage leaving a difference of $3,765.05.1

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replacement value prior to the damage was $75,000. Therefore, the NPFC finds the allowable 

valuation of the boat damage to be $3,389.68. 

As for the fenders, buoy and lines, GEICO provided information showing that they were two 

years old when the oil damaged them. GEICO paid the insured $375.37 for their replacement. 

$238.75 was the cost for the fenders and buoy and $136.62 was the cost for the lines. The repair 

cost would be higher to attempt to remove the oil and staining from these items. The difference 

in value is the depreciated replacement cost since the items had no residual value when covered 

in oil and they had to be removed from the water and likely disposed during the response. 

GEICO showed that the fenders and buoy had a useful life of 12 years. GEICO estimated the life 

span of the lines to be 6 years, but provided no basis for this estimation. NPFC contacted 

Englund Marine to find out the estimated life of the lines and Englund Marine stated that the 

lines would have a life expectancy of approximately 4 years.2 Based on the documentation 

provided by GEICO, NPFC finds that the fenders and buoy had about 10 years out of 12 years 

total useful life left in them. Based on the fact that the claimant obtained the replacement 

estimate from Englund Marine and Englund Marine, as the seller, provided an estimate of the 

 1 BoatUS insurance policy BUS5363020-00 - Declarations Page dated 07/14/2017 2 June 18, 2018 email from Englund Marine.