The Superior Court of New Jersey in Latter v. 3M Company, No. L-10370-08, 2015 WL 868048 (March 3, 2015) reversed the trial court’s grant of summary judgment against a deceased seaman, Mr. Henry Latter. Mr. Latter died from mesothelioma as a result of asbestos exposure which Mr. Latter alleged occurred in part while he was…
Hurricane Sandy, which is stirring up waves as large as 32 feet high according to buoy readings, is also giving a wild ride to passengers on at least five cruise ships. Captain Vito Giacalone of Carnival Cruise Lines told ABC News via telephone that the storm is getting intense. “We are navigating through some serious…
Yesterday, the devastating impact of Hurricane Sandy claimed the replica of the HMS Bounty, which sank off the coast of North Carolina. Tragically, one crewmember died, and the ship’s captain remains missing. As more details emerge, questions are being raised about the decision to sail into the storm, a choice that some experts believe was…
A couple from Bellingham, Washington, played a pivotal role in the rescue of a man who had been adrift for 26 hours in the icy waters of Alaska. Last month, Tele Aadsen and Joel Brady-Power, both seasoned fishermen, may have saved the life of 19-year-old Ryan Harris, whose boat capsized northwest of Sitka, Alaska. The…
OCEAN?PARK,? Wash. — The U.S. Coast Guard medevaced an injured 38-year-old man near Ocean Park Thursday. Sector Columbia River received a report from the crew of the fishing vessel LADY LAW approximately 5:10 p.m. that the ship’s master had suffered abdominal and hand injuries while working aboard the vessel 20 miles west of Leadbetter Point…
To those of us who live in Puget Sound country, the Italian cruise ship tragedy calls to mind a similiar episode in our local waters. In 1983, the 2800 gross ton state ferry ELWHA grounded on a reef just off Orcas Island, in the scenic San Juans. In that case, the skipper deliberately deviated from…
Two influential senators from opposite coasts, each hailing from states with rich maritime traditions, hold the key to passing crucial legislation aimed at overhauling inspections and safety standards for America’s fishing fleets. Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell, who chairs the Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard Subcommittee of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, and…
Another tragedy has struck the Alaska fishing fleet. The KATMAI, a 93-foot head and gut fishing vessel capsized and sank in the Aleutian Islands early in the morning on Wednesday, October 22. It now appears that only four of the KATMAI’s eleven crewmembers survived. The last communication from the KATMAI was an e-mail reporting incursion…
BoatLaw has being fighting to improve fishing vessel safety for 30 years. We have fought hundreds of lawsuits to penalize vessel owners for negligence and unseaworthy conditions. To date governmental regulation has been limited. For decades industry lobbyists have opposed inspection of fishing vessels and license requirements for shipboard personnel. The fishing industry and fishing-related…
Fishermen believe that they observe large gaps in the biological data that is to be used in the updated Atlantic King Mackerel stock assessment. The new stock assessment does not line up with what we are observing, states Kelly Schoolcraft, a fisherman from North Carolina. The new stock assessment is scheduled for review and completion…
