Below is one of the many charming bye laws from the Black Book of the Admiralty, a compilation of English admiralty law which has had several authors over the generations, written and translated from a mixture of old French and Latin, and originally known as Monumenta Juridica.
“Maryners bynd with theyr mayster, and any that goo out withoutte leave of the mayster, and drynke dronken, and make noyse and stryfe so that any of them be hurte, the mayster is not bounde to cause them to be healed nor to purvey ought for them, but he may well put them out of the shyppe and hire others in their place.
But yf the mayster shulde sende them in any errande for the prouffyte of the shyppe, and that they shulde hurte theym self, they ought to be healed at the costes of the shyppe. This is the judgement.”
Black Book of the Admiralty Circa 1400s
The rules and regulations it outlined were liberally adapted from the Rules of Oléron, which date back to around 1160 and were the first formal statement of ‘maritime’ or ‘admiralty’ laws in northwestern Europe. The Rules of Oléron were introduced into law in England in 1190.
They were written in French by Eleanor of Aquitaine, at various times both Queen of France and England, mother to eight children, three of whom became monarchs, and one of the most powerful women of all time. She began her work in between crusades.
So, it’s largely thanks to good old Queen Eleanor that there is an obligation to ‘heal’. In other words, as outlined above in medieval English, when the ‘cure’ was no doubt worse than the disease, the judgement still holds true to this day. All ship owners must provide medical care, free of charge, to any seaman injured in the service of the ship, until such time as the seaman has reached “maximum medical cure”.
The obligation to ‘cure’ a seaman includes the obligation to provide him with medications and medical devices which improve his ability to function, even if they do not actually ‘improve’ his condition.
Rewriting the Rulebooks for Maritime Medical Cover
Fast forward some 910 years and we like to think Eleanor would have slotted in comfortably at Moore Dixon Brokers Limited (MDBL) . Like her, we have a pioneering spirit when it comes to providing the right kind of life and medical cover for super yacht crew. And comprehensive cover can work out much cheaper than you might think.
Written by Michael Weare, March 2024
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