The ALASKA RANGER, a 180 foot factory trawler owned by the Fishing Company of Alaska sank in the Bering Sea on March 23, 2008. Five crewmembers perished and 42 were rescued in a heroic effort by the U.S. Coast Guard and the crew of a sister ship, the ALASKA WARRIOR. The tragedy will be investigated…
Politics in Alaska is a brand new game for both Democrats and Republicans. The change comes on the heals of the recent indictment of long time Alaska Senator Ted Stevens. Two years ago, Ted Stevens was still the powerful long ruling senator from Alaska, delivering billions of federal dollars to his home state, when federal…
The Supreme Court reduced the payout from $2.5 Billion to $507.5 and Exxon Denies Interest is owed. The Supreme Court has left Alaska Fishermen reeling from the June decision reducing the judgment dramatically. Claimants have waited twenty years only to learn that the amount of their compensation has been arbitrarily reduced. Prince William Sound has yet…
Yesterday the U.S. Supreme Court preserved a legal rule which has for 50 years helped railway workers and Jones Act seamen recover fair compensation for their injuries. Despite a vigorous dissent by the Chief Justice, the majority in CSX Transportation, Inc. v. McBride held that if employer negligence plays any part in causing injury to…
The NTSB recently completed its investigation into the sinking of the Fishing Vessel Katmai on October 22, 2008. The National Transportation Safety Board released their report on the disaster, and it concluded that the boat had a number of stability problems that made it unable to withstand extreme storm conditions in the Bering Sea. As…
Before the LADY MARY sank off Cape May, N.J., in 2009 with the loss of six lives, it had been structurally modified “without consulting a naval architect,” federal safety officials said. The scallop trawler’s owners hadn’t assessed its stability. The crew didn’t realize the importance of keeping the vessel watertight during severe weather. And the…
The captain of the Alaska crabber SEABROOKE recently wrote an opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal. He extolled the benefits of the recently adopted quota system in the Bering Sea crab fishery. He states: “In 2010, commercial fishing once again topped the list of deadliest jobs in the U.S. According to the Bureau of…
On Tuesday, the U.S. Coast Guard medevaced an injured man from a fishing boat approximately 200 miles southwest of Dutch Harbor, Alaska. Watchstanders in the 17th District command center in Juneau received the initial request for the medevac at about 4 p.m. Tuesday. Commercial fishing vessel Patricia Lee made way towards Dutch Harbor at approximately 11:50 p.m….
A German ship is currently under investigation by the U.S. Coast Guard. Investigators say that the ship might have been involved in the pipeline leaks that fouled southern California beaches, killing wildlife and their habitats. Our very own maritime injury attorney Adam Deitz had a chance to add his input to the situation as he…
The U.S. Coast Guard rescued four stranded individuals Thursday after a fishing vessel ran aground near Dutch Harbor, Alaska. The MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew arrived on scene just after midnight to find all four survivors huddled on a rock with the tide coming in. They were placed in the care of awaiting EMS. No injuries…
There was no time that Nick was ever unavailable for me. That’s what I call a friend. That is somebody who cares.
Past Client of BoatLaw Commercial Fisherman, Southeast Alaska
