Learn about recent news in the maritime law industry by reading the following blog articles from
BoatLaw, LLP. Attorney Nick Neidzwski and Doug Williams are experienced in practicing admiralty and maritime law, including representation for Jones Act cases and for those injured at sea. BoatLaw serves the entire Pacific Coast including Alaska, Washington, Oregon and California.

Marina Explosion Seriously Injures Boater

A boat exploded last night at the John Wayne Marina in Sequim, Washington, seriously injuring a man on board. The 40-foot boat blew up about 5:45 last night at the “C” dock in the marina. Fire District Three spokesman Patrick Young says the explosion was so large, boats within 75 yards were also damaged. One…

March 1, 2012

Read more »

Shipowner Fault in COSTA CONCORDIA Disaster

The London newspaper Guardian reported yesterday that Carnival Cruise Lines has opened talks on compensation with the survivors of last week’s shipwreck. One may assume that, in keeping with the practice of vessel owners and their underwriters in other shipwreck cases, Carnival is trying to settle quickly with claimants, before they retain lawyers to investigate…

January 20, 2012

Read more »

Italian Cruise Ship Tragedy

Rescue efforts aboard the sunken Costa Concordia luxury cruise liner off the coast of Tuscany were halted Monday morning when rough seas caused the ship to shift, endangering divers and rescue workers who have been searching around the clock for survivors. Hours before operations were suspended, a male victim was found in an above-water section…

January 17, 2012

Read more »

Carnival Cruise Stock Plummets in Wake of Italian Tragedy

More than £300m has been wiped off the paper fortune of the multibillionaire boss of the company that owned the stricken cruise liner Costa Concordia. Micky Arison, the flamboyant chairman, chief executive and majority owner of Carnival, saw a large chunk of his $4.5bn (£2.9bn) holdings dissolve on Monday as the company’s shares lost almost…

January 17, 2012

Read more »

Sirens of the Island of Giglio

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…

January 17, 2012

Read more »

Factory Trawler Takes on Water at Dock in Seattle

The ARICA, a factory trawl fishing vessel at a dry dock on the east side of Lake Union, began taking on water one day last week. Crews members were pumping out water from the boat when they lost power and called the Seattle Fire Department around 5:15 a.m. Fire department crews arrived and began helping…

January 5, 2012

Read more »

SWANLAND Mirrors Alaska Shipwreck Cases

The facts of the tragic sinking of the SWANLAND resemble those in Alaska fish boat cases. Although, as noted in our earlier post, the SWANLAND is a Russian vessel, it was British managed. The British Maritime and Coastguard Agency is therefore conducting an investigation, much as the U.S. Coast Guard would conduct a marine casualty…

December 14, 2011

Read more »

Coast Guard Renders Aid to Disabled Ship Near Adak

On December 8, 2011, crews with the Coast Guard Cutter Sherman and an Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter delivered steering system technicians to the 650-foot cargo ship MORNING CEDAR at a location 17 miles from Bobrof Island in the Aleutian Islands. The cargo vessel suffered a steering casualty while in transit from Canada to…

December 14, 2011

Read more »