ABSTRACT
As a general rule, the insurer carries the burden of proving a vessel unseaworthy at the relevant time.264 Therefore, if the insurers claim that the seaworthiness warranty was breached, they are under an obligation to show that the vessel was unseaworthy at the relevant time. Similarly, in time policies, in order to be able to bring a s 39(5) defence, the insurer must prove that the ship was unseaworthy when she was sent to sea and the assured were privy to this unseaworthiness.
