The Center for Public Integrity, an investigative news organization based in Washinton, D.C. has published a report on fishing vessel safety issues. The following is excerpted: Commercial fishing is the deadliest vocation in the United States. Four years running, from 2007 to 2010, the Bureau of Labor Statistics ranked commercial fishing as the most dangerous…
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The Coast Guard says a member of a fishing vessel crew survived after falling overboard without a lifejacket in the frigid waters of Prince William Sound. Coast Guard spokesman David Mosley says the Seward-based PHOENIX reported the crew member missing at 8:51 p.m. Saturday, August 18, 2012, a couple minutes after he…
The U.S. Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (SLSDC) today announced the availability of an innovative new technology that will enhance safety on the St. Lawrence Seaway by giving mariners real time information on current and projected distances between a vessel’s keel and river bottoms. Known as the Draft Information System (DIS), the new on-board technology…
A fisherman was killed, another was injured, and four more are missing after their fishing boat was rammed by an alleged Chinese vessel 160 nautical miles from the Panatag Shoal, in the Philippines. The Philippine fishing boat, “Axl John,” was anchored at a payaw, or artificial fish shelter, when the ramming occurred. On June 20,…
Chief Mate William Skye brought suit in Florida against Maersk Lines Limited for excessive dangerous working conditions that inflicted heart damage and subsequently forced him into early retirement. The claim was made that Maersk working conditions violated the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, also known as the STCW. According…
Admiralty law is steeped in tradition. Many of its principles derive from sources as ancient as the maritime code of the Isle of Rhodes. But in the past two decades, the law of maritime personal injury has been in flux. The pivot point is the U.S. Supreme Court case of Miles v. Apex Marine Corp.,…
March was not a good month for workers on fishing boats. One worker, Andrew “Drew” Fotu, 25, from Seattle was a crew member on the F/V Alaska Juris was struck in the head by a snapped cable on March 1, 2012. The blow to the head was so severe that he immediately began bleeding from…
The Iliuliuk Family and Health Services clinic in Dutch Harbor has been caring for injured fishermen for decades. It is a beacon of compassion and competence in the North Pacific. It’s commitment to professionalism is reflected in its decision not to permit a T.V. show to invade the privacy of the clinic. The Deadliest Catch’s…
An article in the Miami Herald discussed lawsuits being instituted in behalf of passengers aboard the COSTA CONCORDIA. Two New York lawfirms claim to be representing “hundreds” of passengers. The shipowner has offerred 11,000 euros, or about $14,500, to settle claims by the 3,206 passengers who were not physically injured. It has been noted that…
Although the parent company of the owner of the stricken Costa Concordia is based in Miami, passengers who want to file a lawsuit in U.S. courts over the cruise ship disaster will encounter obstacles in the tickets issued by the cruise line. That’s because of fine print on the tickets purchased and signed by the…
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
