Cruise Company Sued Over Fuel Surcharges

Posted on November 11, 2008
Filed Under News | 2 Comments

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

Posted on November 2, 2008
Filed Under History, US Laws & Codes | 1 Comment

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

Posted on October 31, 2008
Filed Under Local, News | Leave a Comment

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

Posted on October 25, 2008
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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

Posted on October 21, 2008
Filed Under Local, News | Leave a Comment

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

Posted on October 20, 2008
Filed Under Legal, News | Leave a Comment

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

Posted on October 17, 2008
Filed Under News | 1 Comment

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.

Odyssey Marine Exploration Salvages the SS Ancona Shipwreck

Posted on October 16, 2008
Filed Under History | 1 Comment

Few know exactly what occurred on November 7, 1915 between the German U-boat and the Italian-American passenger ship, the SS Ancona. All we know is that the U-boat sunk the vessel – sending 83 passengers, 12 barrels of gold and a silver shipment to their watery grave near Sardinia.

Until now, the site remained undisturbed at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea. In 2007, Odyssey Marine Exploration believed it found the SS Ancona. It had used underwater sonar and a deep-sea robot (named Zeus) to inspect the site.

Odyssey publicized its discovery with two other shipwrecks, including the Spanish Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes (carrying a 17-ton cargo of silver and gold) in the “Black Swan” case. At this point, the Spanish government became very interested in all of Odyssey’s discoveries.

United States Maritime Law awards the “salvor” with “possession” rights, but not “ownership” rights for a treasure. On April 9, 2007 – Odyssey filed a “warrant of arrest in rem” establishing a “maritime lien” against the SS Ancona shipwreck (believed to be worth between $20 and $60 million). This “established the salvor’s claim to the treasure”.

This case has proceeded slowly before United States District Judge Mark A. Pizzo. On April 2, 2008 – Spain dropped any claim to the SS Ancona, since it was neither in Spanish waters nor a Spanish vessel.

Odyssey hopes to receive the standard 10 to 25% of the treasure. Hopefully, all interested parties will cooperate to ensure the best conclusion for the SS Ancona.

Alcohol May Be Involved in Fatal Boat Crash – Detroit, MI

Posted on October 13, 2008
Filed Under Local, News | 2 Comments

Fox News Channel 12 in Detroit, MI reports on a fatal boating accident that occurred this weekend:

In national news tonight: Alcohol may have been a factor in a fatal boat accident this weekend in Detroit, Michigan. Three people are dead and another person remains seriously injured. The 21 foot boat was speeding when it slammed into a dock. The accident instantly crushed the boat. The boat owner and another couple were killed. The boat owner’s wife was airlifted to the hospital. Witnesses describe the scene as pure panic. GUC says: “The boat was so mangled it took probably 20 minutes or so just to get them out. The boat was all crushed up and we were trying to hold the people in place while they took the boat apart to get them out. So, that was a pretty rough thing to see. ” Police say they found open and closed containers of alcohol on board the boat. The investigation continues for the cause of the crash.

In just one of many fatal boating accidents this season, this report also cites alcohol as a possible contributing factor in the deaths of three people. What many boat owners fail to remember is that drinking and driving laws apply to boaters as well as car drivers.  In a recent post, we wrote about a NJ boat operator was suspected of drunk driving when his speed boat crashed into a smaller Boston Whaler this summer.  In this case, the captain of the boat fled the scene and no breath test could be performed to determine his blood alcohol content.

The staff of Lawrenceville criminal lawyer Michael Sheffield told USmaritimelaw.org that the punishment for DUI may often be more severe than a ‘leaving the scene’ charge.

The punishment for a person’s first conviction of drunk driving charges is severe and generally includes driver’s license suspension for half a year, community service, a day in jail and more.

On the other hand, a “leaving the scene” charge can often be pleaded out to a misdemeanor. This is a loophole that needs to be closed before we will find any reduction in both drunk driving and hit-and-runs.

CA Representitive’s Brother Missing at Sea

Posted on October 8, 2008
Filed Under Local, News | Leave a Comment

California representatives Loretta and Linda Sanchez’s brother and his girlfriend are suspected to have been in a boating accident Last Friday, and are still missing at sea.

The United States Coast Guard has been searching for them for five days. They have recovered pieces of the boat and articles of clothing but have not found the bodies of Henry Sanchez and Penny Avila. They had used dive teams and sonar trying to locate the bodies underwater. They have now covered more than a 300 mile radius in their recovery mission. The Los Angeles Fire Department, County Sheriff’s department and the Port of Los Angeles Police have also been involved in this search and recovery mission.

With so many departments and the United States Coast guard involved, this is costing taxpayers additional funds out of pocket. Is it fair for taxpayers to be funding a rescue mission lasting five days that spans far out into the Pacific Ocean? Will bodies ever be recovered? Would this rescue effort last this long in Henry and Penny were not related to congresswomen? Let us know your thoughts by commenting below.

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