US Maritime Law

Cruise ship strikes ice, stranded on Antarctic coast

admin — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 15:48:07 +0000

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (CNN) – A cruise ship carrying 122 people was stranded Thursday on the coast of Antarctica after striking ice, officials said.

Mariano Memolli of the Argentina Antarctic Directorate told Argentina’s TodoNoticias (TN) Television a naval boat and plane were dispatched to evacuate the passengers of the Ushuaia as a precaution.

The ship, carrying 89 passengers and 33 crew members, was losing fuel and taking on water but was not in danger of sinking, Television C5N reported.

Adm. Daniel Martin, head of the naval base in Ushuaia, Argentina, where a call for help was received from the ship, said the passengers were “in a perfect state of health,” and were awaiting the arrival of the Atlantic Dream, a nearby cruise ship, C5N said.

Click here to read the full story.

Somali Pirate Update - Nov 19th 2008

admin — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:57:51 +0000

Indian warship destroys a pirate ship in the Gulf of Aden

$10m ransom demanded for captured Saudi supertanker

Somali Pirates Hijack Thai Fishing Boat & 16 Crew

Ship belonging to Iran’s state shipping lines captured off the Yemen coast

39 ships have been hijacked in the Gulf of Aden in 2008

Pirates living the high life (BBC)

Somali Pirates Hijack Saudi Oil Tanker

admin — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 15:35:08 +0000

Just six weeks after Somali pirates had hijacked a Ukrainian ship bound for Kenya, Somali pirates have reportedly hijacked a Saudi oil tanker off the eastern coast of Africa. The 1,000 ft-long Sirius Star, which had been headed for the United States, is reported to be the largest ship hijacked to date.

Britain announced earlier this month that it would take the lead in a multi-national taskforce designed to tackle the heavily armed gangs patrolling the Arabian Sea. In the mean time, some shipping companies have taken matters into their own hands by refusing to navigate these dangerous waters, resulting in costly delays as a result of longer shipping routes.

For more information, read the full story here.

Cruise Company Sued Over Fuel Surcharges

admin — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 15:19:16 +0000

Attorney General Bill McCollum filed a lawsuit against a Broward County cruise ship company for failing to adequately disclose fuel surcharge fees. According to the lawsuit, Imperial Majesty Cruise Line LLC has collected approximately $4m in fuel surcharges from late 2006 to present.

The company, which offers two-day cruises to the Bahamas, is also accused of falsely representing those fees as governmental taxes or fees. An investigation conducted by the Attorney General’s Economic Crimes Division determined the company’s web site informs consumers that a “fuel/security” surcharge will be added to their onboard account “…only if (they) have not paid the governmental taxes and fees at the time of booking.”

Read the full story here.

Delta Queen, National Historic Landmark, Refused Exemption from SOLA

admin — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 15:19:50 +0000

The Delta Queen, a steamboat operated by Majestic America Line, will be retired after nearly eighty years of service. While the “Safety of Life at Sea Act” classified boats with wooden superstructures as fire hazards in 1966, the Delta Queen had been operating with an exemption from congress. Without the temporary exemption that expired November 1, 2008, the wooden steamboat will no longer cruise the Mississippi River.

Heather platform evacuated after oil leak

admin — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 16:20:44 +0000

Personnel were evacuated today from the Petrofac-operated Heather oil production platform in the UK North Sea after an oil leak in the processing module shut down the facility. Petrofac, which runs the Heather platform for Lundin Britain, confirmed that 57 workers were taken by three helicopters to Shetland as remaining staff tackled the oil spill, which happened at 10.30 am this morning. Aberdeen Coastguard said there was no fire on board the platform and the evacuation was precautionary.

Read the full article here.

Irving Oil, Global Petroleum Settles for $315,500

admin — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 16:25:00 +0000

BOSTON (UsMaritimeLaw.org) - On March 8, 2006, contractors allegedly removed at least one check-valve from an oil fuel loading dock jointly owned by New Hampshire-based Irving Oil, Irving Oil Terminals and Global Petroleum Corp. This created a one- to two-foot gap in the pipeline. Global then attempted to transfer fuel oil through the pipeline, releasing 20,000 gallons of oil, 18,000 of which went into the Chelsea River and upstream into Mill Creek.

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley announced that the three companies have agreed on a settlement of $312,500 to an environmental restoration fund known as the “Natural Resource Damages Trust“.

Coakley said;

“This harmful spill could have been avoided had the companies simply communicated with each other ahead of the repair work and closed a few valves… We hope this settlement will prompt all companies to implement better preventative measures so our valuable resources can be protected.”

An Irving Oil spokesman said that since the incident, the company has made changes to the operating procedures at the dock to prevent something similar from happening. Poitras said;

“We take our environmental responsibilities seriously, as demonstrated by our quick response to the spill and the tireless efforts of our employees, working with the U.S. Coast Guard and the Revere Fire Department, to minimize the spill’s impact,”

Man found guilty in murder of couple tossed off yacht, 1 other

admin — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 13:36:54 +0000

SANTA ANA, California (AP) – A former child actor was convicted Monday of murdering three people, including a couple who were tied to an anchor and thrown off their yacht off the California coast. An Orange County jury found Skylar Deleon, 29, guilty of three counts of first-degree murder and special circumstances for financial gain and multiple victims. Deleon’s attorney had conceded to the jury from the outset that Deleon was guilty but should not be put to death. The penalty phase of the trial will begin Wednesday.

Read the Full Story Here.

Queens Court Rules on Maritime Damages

admin — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 20:56:39 +0000

TimesOnline.co.uk - There was no rule in the Admiralty Court that, where there was no counterclaim, a claimant found partially at fault should recover only a proportion of its costs according to the percentage of liability of the defendant.

Mr Justice Aikens so stated on August 1, 2008, in the Admiralty Court of the Queen’s Bench Division, when making a costs order in favour of Krysia Maritime Inc following its damages claim against Intership Ltd.

The propeller of Krysia, a fast support and intervention vessel, was fouled by a rope attached to a dumb barge, Europa, owned by Intership Ltd. His Lordship had earlier held that the fouling was caused by negligent management of Europa but also by the faulty navigation of Krysia and apportioned liability at 70 to 30 per cent.

Read the full story here.

Hurricane Ike Continues to Affect Cruise Industry

admin — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 15:38:15 +0000

The 2008 hurricane season definitely had an impact on the cruise industry. However, this hurricane season was not was not as devasting for the cruise industry as it has been in years past. The one U.S. port that has had a long lasting impact is the Port of Galveston, which was badly damaged by Hurricane Ike, and had to be closed on September 14, 2008. The closure led to the cancellation of two Carnival cruises. The Carnival Conquest, which was set to leave port on the 14th, and the Carnival Ecstasy, which was departing on 15th, had to be cancelled. Both of the ships were already at sea, and both had to return to port in New Orleans. The Port of Galveston has one terminal that is expected to be operational by the end of October, but the second is not expected to be fully operating again until December. In lieu of using the Galveston port, Carnival has been utilizing the nearby Houston port, which is fairly convenient for those passengers who still would like to depart from the Texas area.

Should you be planning to take a cruise, you should not have any problems with being able to plan to depart from the South part of Texas, and would only need to make a small adjustment to leave Houston instead of Galveston for a few more weeks. Check for updates here.