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A Labor Dispute Impacts West Coast Ports

Continuing conflicts between the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) are causing dramatic changes to West Coast ports. Since early June, West Coast ports have experienced worker slowdowns and stoppages, resulting in an estimated $5.2 billion worth of trade stagnation in southern California alone. The Port of Seattle has… Read More

NTSB Determines Cause of Scandies Rose Sinking in Alaska

Photo was taken by Bret Newbaker of the Anchorage Daily News.  Commercial fishing has historically ranked as one of the most dangerous jobs in America. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) supports this claim even further after they released their investigative reports into the 2019 loss of the fishing vessel known as Scandies Rose. The… Read More

Three Commercial Fishermen Rescued from Sinking Crab Boat in Northern California

At 1820 hours on Sunday, January 24, crab boat F/V SUNUP issued a distress call to the United States Coast Guard.  According to the crew, the vessel developed propulsion issues, lost control, and allided with the south jetty entering Humboldt Bay, California. Coast Guard Station Humboldt Bay deployed a motor lifeboat and a helicopter to… Read More

NTSB Releases Safer Seas Digest 2019

On December 10, 2020, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board issued a summary report detailing the most important maritime safety lessons learned from marine incidents during the year 2019.  The report is known as the Safer Seas Digest. The Safer Seas Digest 2019 includes lessons learned from 30 different incidents in 2019.  These included allisions,… Read More

New Fire Safety Requirements for Small Passenger Vessels Included in the National Defense Authorization Act (FY2021)

In the wake of the deadly fire aboard D/V CONCEPTION in September 2019, lawmakers have advanced a new fire safety bill for small passenger vessels, the Small Passenger Vessel Safety Act.  The legislation was proposed by Senator Dianne Feinstein and Representatives Salud Carbajal and Julia Brownley.  It was rolled into the National Defense Authorization Act… Read More

Captain of D/V CONCEPTION Indicted for Criminal Seaman Manslaughter in 2020

D/V CONCEPTION caught fire and sank off the coast of California in 2019.  The incident killed 34 people.  On December 1, 2020, the captain of the Vessel was indicted on federal manslaughter charges under The Seaman’s Manslaughter Statute, codified at 18 U.S.C. § 1115. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles, the captain… Read More

U.S. CDC to Lift Ban on Cruises in U.S. Waters, but Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian Cruise Line Extend Voluntary Suspension Through the End of the Year

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on Oct. 30, 2020, that it would soon lift a ban on cruises in U.S. waters.  The agency detailed the requirements that cruise lines must meet in order to resume operations. The initial phase of restarting the cruise industry will require vessel operators to “demonstrate… Read More

Vessel Owner and Management Blamed for Deadly Fire Aboard California Dive Boat

During the Oct. 20, 2020 meeting of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, the NTSB determined the probable cause of the Sept., 2019 fire casualty aboard D/V CONCEPTION was the failure of Truth Aquatics, Inc., the owner and operator of the vessel, to provide effective oversight of the boat and crew operations.  Specifically, they failed… Read More

NTSB Meets to Consider Probable Cause of Fatal Dive Boat Fire

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board will meet at 1 p.m. (EDT) on October 20, 2020, concerning the fire aboard D/V CONCEPTION off of Santa Cruz, California in 2019.  The fire killed 34 people.  The Board, which consists of five members will vote on the probable cause, make recommendations, and discuss changes to their draft… Read More

NTSB Releases Hundreds of Pages of Evidence on Deadly Fire Aboard D/V CONCEPTION

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has publicly released voluminous documentary evidence relating to the fire aboard D/V CONCEPTION on September 2, 2019, which resulted in the deaths of 34 people.  The only survivors of the incident near Santa Cruz Island in California were five crewmembers who dove into the water for safety.  Everyone else… Read More

  • The Maritime Law Association of The United States
    The Maritime Law Association of the United States (MLA) was founded in 1899. Its formation was prompted by the organization, some three years earlier, of the International Maritime Committee.
  • Washington State Bar Association
    The Washington State Bar Association operates under the delegated authority of the Washington Supreme Court to license the state's nearly 40,000 lawyers and other legal professionals.
  • Oregon State Bar
    The Oregon State Bar is a government agency in the U.S. state of Oregon. Founded in 1890 as the private Oregon Bar Association, it became a public entity in 1935 that regulates the legal profession.
  • Alaska Bar Association
    The Alaska Bar Association is a mandatory bar association responsible to the Alaska Supreme Court for the admission and discipline process of attorneys for the State of Alaska.