Last week Oil giant BP Exploration and Production Inc. settled a series of federal charges related to its conduct in the 2010 DEEPWATER HORIZON disaster, which killed 11 people and caused the largest environmental disaster in U.S. history. In addition to pleading guilty to 11 counts of felony manslaughter, one count of felony obstruction of… Read More
Blog Posts & Articles
Five crewmembers from the POLAR WIND were rescued after the tug and the barge it was towing went aground. The Northland Services tug was 20 miles from Cold Bay when it became separated from the barge it was dragging behind it. The two vessels went adrift while the crew was trying to reconnect the towline…. Read More
On Friday, November 2, an Alaska ferry worker was injured after a support cable snapped on the passenger loading ramp she was standing on at Bellingham Cruise Terminal, in Fairhaven. The female Alaska Marine Highway ferry ramp operator, who was not identified, was standing near the edge of the passenger ramp at 3:20 p.m., lowering… Read More
The Coast Guard has sent a letter to state and union officials, demanding that the Washington State Ferry system restore the crew complement on several of their boats for safety reasons. In the 8-page letter, the Coast Guard said they made the decision by analyzing all of the responsibilities each crew must undertake. “(We analyzed)… Read More
Hurricane Sandy caused a replica of the HMS BOUNTY to sink off North Carolina coast yesterday. A crewmember died and the captain is missing. Reports now indicate that the vessel sailed from Halifax, Nova Scotia bound for St. Petersburg, Florida to participate in a tall ships event. The decision to sail was made despite weather… Read More
As Hurricane Sandy pummels the East Coast of the U.S., there is much discussion of wind speed. The forecast is for 90 mile per hour winds. Wind speed has long been of interest and concern to mariners, since the resulting wave action can cause havoc at sea. Before the age of technology, and instruments capable… Read More
Hurricane Sandy may have claimed its first American victims today as it sank a tall ship and washed away two crew members as they tried to board a life boat. Fourteen people were rescued from the floundering HMS BOUNTY early this morning and an urgent search is on in the churning seas for the two… Read More
Two weeks ago, a collision killed 38 people aboard a passenger ferry near Hong Kong. Two days ago, nearly two dozen people survived the sinking of a tour boat in San Francisco Bay. The first incident was tragic, the second merely ominous. Both incidents should have been avoided with the use of current technology and… Read More
The U.S. Coast Guard rescued three crew members this morning who abandoned their burning fishing vessel, the 35-foot HAVANNA, and set out on a life raft about 17 miles west of Cannon Beach. An MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew flew up from Air Facility Newport to make the rescue. It located the three survivors in the… Read More
This is the 50th anniversary of the “Columbus Day Storm,” the most powerful extratropical storm of all time. It is an appropriate moment to contemplate the significance of fall weather patterns to the North Pacific marine industry. Many years ago, a partner at the maritime law firm of Anderson Carey Alexander was a principal of… Read More
