WELLFLEET — When a public hearing on the Wellfleet Marina’s proposed new fee schedule turned briefly to the subject of insurance at the March 24 select board meeting, the worry was not fire but ice.
That conversation gained new relevance after April 3, when an early morning fire torched the end of the town’s L-pier and sank the F/V Lady Irene, one of two vessels that were docked there.
At the March meeting, the concern was that ice damage could compromise the town’s docks and pilings, leading to costly repairs that would not be covered by insurance.
“We don’t have any insurance on our docks and pilings through the town, so if we do move docks, that is a significant financial burden on the enterprise fund,” Harbormaster Mike Cavanaugh said.
“I have a real problem with not allowing docks to be left in the winter because these guys fish year-round,” Shellfish Constable Nancy Civetta said, referring to floating docks that are removed seasonally or for repairs. “Is there any way that the town could get insurance on our docks and pilings?”
Citing the hearing’s original purpose to discuss fee schedules, the select board set aside consideration of pier insurance.
A week after the fire, on April 9, Town Administrator Tom Guerino addressed the finance committee. “We do not have pier insurance, which is not unusual,” Guerino said. “We do have an umbrella liability policy,” he added, which could cover bills submitted by other parties, such as the boat owner.
“We have undertaken some pretty hefty expenses to date,” Guerino said. Those included removing diesel, salvaging the vessel by crane, fire dept. mobilization, and constructing a temporary fix for vessels seeking to unload on the nearby docks.
“We’re going to have to pay these bills,” Guerino said. “I mean, the people who provided the services are going to expect to be paid.”
As for how much those bills are adding up to, Guerino did not have an answer. “I need to get better numbers as they come in, so we know what we’re talking about as far as what we need,” he said.
“There’s $200,000 that was appropriated a couple of years ago for a marina master plan,” Guerino said, adding that some or all of it could perhaps be repurposed for covering fire-related expenses. “I have to see if we can do that, using up to $150,000 of that, leaving $50,000 in provisions for a master plan beginning,” he said.
Guerino did not return a phone call or text message asking what the expenses have been so far.
Guerino told the Independent on April 7 that insuring pier facilities beyond general liability is “expensive and doesn’t cover much.”
Provincetown Pier Manager Jamie Demetriou said that MacMillan Pier is insured, and municipal insurance records reviewed by the Independent show that Provincetown’s marine insurance package, underwritten by Boston Marine Insurance Services, had an annual premium of $38,545 for renewal in fiscal 2025, covering MacMillan Pier and nearby floats. The premium included $10,350 for general liability and $2,000 to cover piers, wharves, and docks.
While the limit on liability claims is $1 million per occurrence, according to the records, the general aggregate limit is $2 million. For damage to the pier’s wooden docks and aluminum gangways, the maximum that insurance would cover appears to be only $10,000, according to the documents.
Chatham Finance Dept. head Carrie Mazerolle said that town’s pier buildings, including a fish processing facility, are all insured alongside a general liability policy, but she said she would need time to study the town’s policy further before confirming specifically how damage to the marina’s other infrastructure would be handled.
The Lady Irene
For now, the wreckage of the 44-foot commercial clam vessel Lady Irene remains propped at the base of the L-pier, where it has been since it was salvaged on April 4.
“I’m just in a holding pattern,” said owner Chris Viprino of Orleans. His insurer has instructed him to leave the vessel in place until further reports are made available, he said. Viprino said he is waiting for four reports: the state fire marshal’s report, the final Wellfleet Fire Dept. report, the Coast Guard’s report, and a third-party report requested by his insurance company.
As of press time on April 15, Wellfleet Fire Chief Joe Cappello said he had only a preliminary report from the marshal. He added that Viprino’s insurance company wanted the third-party investigation to look into the possibility of electrical issues involved in the incident.
Viprino had decided to keep the boat in Wellfleet for the winter because of construction in his home port on the Orleans side of Rock Harbor.
He started out docked on the pier’s back slips, but he said town officials asked him to dock on the L-pier due to “piling issues” on the back slips.
Viprino was skeptical of the idea that municipal pier insurance costs too much and covers too little to merit getting it. “That sounds like insurance coverage everywhere in every industry, but you still get it,” he said.
