Marine Link
Thursday, March 28, 2024
SUBSCRIBE

State Law News

07 Dec 2023

The Next WSF Vessels Could Be Built Outside of Washington State

© Chris Fabregas / Adobe Stock

The next newbuilds for Washington State Ferries (WSF) could be built by a shipyard outside of Washington as the state seeks to accelerate its ferry electrification program.The Washington State Department of Transportation's (WSDOT) WSF earlier this week issued a request for information to the shipbuilding industry across the country as part of its effort to contract for five new hybrid-electric Olympic-class ferries. Responses are due in January and will provide critical information for the Invitation for Bid in spring 2024…

13 Nov 2022

Responder Immunity

Copyright Björn Wylezich/AdobeStock

The Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA – also known as the Clean Water Act), as amended by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90), contains a responder immunity provision. That provision states, in pertinent part:(A)A person is not liable for removal costs or damages which result from actions taken or omitted to be taken in the course of rendering care, assistance, or advice consistent with the National Contingency Plan or as otherwise directed by the President relating…

11 Aug 2022

California Sets Big Offshore Wind Targets

Credit: Untrakdrover/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 3.0

California on Wednesday set ambitious new targets for offshore wind development, saying turbines along its storied coastline would power some 25 million homes by 2050.In a unanimous vote, the five-member California Energy Commission (CEC) adopted a goal of 3,000 to 5,000 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind by 2030 and 25,000 MW by 2045, the agency said in a statement.California has among the most aggressive climate change goals in the country, but its foray into offshore wind has lagged that of East Coast states like New York…

14 Jun 2022

Washington State to Rebid Hybrid-electric Ferries Contract

Chimacum is one of Washington State Ferries' four Olympic Class vessels delivered by Vigor before it was awarded the Hybrid Electric Olympic Class contract. (Photo: Stuart Isett / Vigor)

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) will launch a competitive bid process for the construction of its next five hybrid-electric ferries after negotiations stalled with shipbuilder Vigor.Vigor, which has built a number of existing vessels for WSDOT's Washington State Ferries (WSF), is currently finalizing designs for the new ferry class and was also lined up to build the vessels, but the shipyard and WSDOT could not agree on price and other contract terms…

11 Mar 2022

What is the Insured’s Duty Under a Marine Insurance Policy? It Depends …

© Aerial Mike / Adobe Stock

The law governing marine insurance in the United States has long been a source of considerable confusion. And if there was once a clear set of principles applicable in such cases, the Supreme Court long ago muddied the waters with their infamous ruling in Wilburn Boat Co. v. Fireman’s Fund Ins. Co., 348 U.S. 310 (1955). That case, involving a fire on a houseboat on an inland man-made lake on the Texas-Oklahoma border, established the “litmus test” for when maritime law should…

26 Jul 2021

A Win for Florida: Appeals Court Lifts CDC Cruise Ship Restrictions

Credit: Solarisys/AdobeStock

A federal appeals court late on Friday reversed course and let stand a lower court order prohibiting the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from enforcing coronavirus-related cruise ship rules in Florida.The decision is a win for Florida that had filed a lawsuit arguing the CDC curbs made it tough for the cruise industry to recover from the pandemic.The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta had only on Saturday voted 2-1 to block the lower court decision.But in its latest brief statement…

19 Jul 2021

U.S. Appeals Court Blocks Ruling that Would Have Suspended CDC Cruise Ship Rules

Illustration - Cruise ships in Miami - Credit: jovannig/AdobeStock

A U.S. appeals court late Saturday in a 2-1 ruling put on hold a lower-court decision that said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) could not enforce its coronavirus cruise ship rules in Florida.Last month, U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday in siding with Republican-led Florida found the state was "highly likely" to show the CDC exceeded its authority in adopting rules governing the resumption of cruise ship sailing.The brief order from the 11th Circuit panel came about 10 minutes before Merryday's ruling was to take effect on Sunday…

06 May 2021

Impact of Dredging on Maritime Law

© Bill Chizek / Adobe Stock

In 1875, the General Moultrie was the first suction dredge built in the United States and was used in the Charleston River — until it sank within a year. During the same era, the city of Houston and other port towns formed companies like the Buffalo Bayou Ship Channel Company to build special-purpose vessels to clear and connect waterways for commercial vessel traffic. Toward the end of the 19th century, the cutter suction dredge made its appearance and effectively dug and maintained water channels.

07 Apr 2021

Piracy and Ship Attacks in the Gulf of Guinea

© remipiotrowski/AdobeStock

Incidents of piracy and attacks on merchant vessels in waters of the Gulf of Guinea are endemic. There are multiple factors at play, including but not limited to: poverty, limited government presence in coastal communities, minimal maritime law enforcement capability among coastal states, and corruption. Some foreign nations, primarily European, conduct patrols outside the 12 nautical mile territorial seas, but far too few to make a significant dent in the problem, and with no authority to operate closer to shore…

12 Jun 2020

The Emerging U.S. Offshore Wind Industry in a Post-COVID-19 World

Join a webinar on June 17, 2020 for the global release of a major new market study on the depth, breadth and growth prospects of the Offshore Wind Market -- https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_UR5uY1boTOKdAAcAXDbR4g
© zozulinskyi/AdobeStock

Join a webinar on June 17, 2020 for the global release of a major new market study on the depth, breadth and growth prospects of the Offshore Wind Market --  https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_UR5uY1boTOKdAAcAXDbR4gJust when it was looking like the offshore wind industry was finally about to take off in the United States, the COVID-19 pandemic has introduced one more significant layer of uncertainty upon an already very complicated playing field. There are currently 15 active offshore wind projects in the planning stages which…

26 Dec 2019

Five Common Mistakes in Maritime Contracts

Copyright: byemo/AdobeStock

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” – Henry de Bracton, DeLegibus, ~1240Often clients or prospective clients come to me with a commercial contract issue perched on the precipice of full-blown litigation or arbitration. When I ask to see the contract, often times I see errors in drafting that either (1) give rise to the problem before me or (2) could create a bigger problem for the client in the future.The risk of drafting error is higher for Europeans looking to contract with American companies.

22 Feb 2019

The USCG -Mandated Drug Testing Increase:

Lee Seham, partner, Seham, Seham, Meltz & Petersen and General Counsel of the non-profit drug testing consortium American Maritime Safety, Inc.

Wasteful, Unwarranted and does not address the ‘Marijuana Challenge.’On December 28, 2018, the United States Coast Guard published a notice in the Federal Register alerting the maritime industry of its determination to increase the minimum annual rate of random drug testing for 2019 from twenty-five percent (25%) to fifty percent (50%). American Maritime Safety, Inc. (AMS), a non-profit industry consortium that facilitates the industry’s compliance with these regulations, regrets the Coast Guard’s decision.AMS counts as members over 400 maritime employers including cruise liners…

05 Nov 2018

Regulatory Reform: Good Ideas … Ready to Start?

Image credit: USCG / Anthony Soto

Regulatory reform is one of President Trump’s priority agenda items. Upon taking office, the President issued a number of Executive Orders focusing attention and demanding action on the myriad of regulations impacting American businesses.Last May, the reform spotlight fell on maritime regulations when the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), published a Request for Information (RFI) on how the government should “prudently manage regulatory costs imposed on the maritime sector.” OMB…

30 Jan 2018

US Coal Firms Plead for West Coast Export Terminals

© Standard Primitive / Adobe Stock

The ailing U.S. coal industry is ramping up its political and legal offensive to win approval for West Coast export terminals that could provide a lifeline to lucrative Asia markets. Coal producers filed two recent lawsuits against governments in Washington state and California challenging local decisions to block port projects on environmental grounds. The industry is also lobbying the Trump administration to override the local bans. The fight reflects the sector’s desperation to boost exports as U.S.

16 Dec 2016

Clear Contractual Language: What Are You Agreeing To?

Larry DeMarcay

The tightening of the marine markets over the last two years have pushed some companies to do everything that they can to avoid obligations that they feel are burdensome or take advantage of obligations that provide them with a competitive advantage. Unfortunately, many of these agreements were crafted during happier times, by employees who were motivated by simply closing the deal and without any real regard for the legal technicalities of the agreement. However, as the market has changed, these contractual details can have a long term lasting impact upon your company.

17 May 2016

Boating Fatalities Low in 2015 -USCG

U.S. Coast Guard photo by Josh Perkins

The U.S. Coast Guard released its 2015 Recreational Boating Statistics report Tuesday, revealing that boating fatalities nationwide that year totaled 626, the third-lowest number of yearly boating fatalities on record. From 2014 to 2015, injuries decreased from 2,678 to 2,613, a 2.4 percent decrease; deaths increased from 610 to 626, a 2.6 percent increase; and the total number of accidents increased from 4,064 to 4,158, a 2.3 percent increase. The report also shows that in 2015 the fatality rate of 5.3 deaths per 100…

18 Mar 2016

Oil Spill Response: Responder Immunity Analyzed

On February 16, 2016, Judge Carl J. Barbier of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana granted summary judgment in favor of the various commercial oil spill response companies involved in the federal government’s response to the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. The responders had been sued by numerous individuals claiming that they incurred damages, including personal injury and/or medical monitoring claims for exposure or other injury resulting from the post-explosion and spill clean-up efforts. Plaintiffs fell into five categories: (1) crew involved in the Vessels of Opportunity (VoO) program…

07 Mar 2016

California Fines Shipper for Clean Air Violations

The California Air Resources Board has fined the China Navigation Co. Pte. Ltd. $129,500 for failure to switch its engines over from heavy diesel bunker fuel to cleaner, low-sulfur fuel when close to the California coast, as required by state law. CARB’s Ocean-Going Vessel Fuel regulation is a critical part of California’s plan to attain air quality standards in Southern California and across the state. On December 28, 2012, an ARB inspector found that the vessel Chenan, managed by the China Navigation Co. Pte. Ltd., operated within Regulated California Waters (i.e. 24 miles or less from the coast) on noncompliant heavy fuel oil on 12 separate days (four voyages) between August 5 and December 28, 2012, while en route to and departing from the Port of Los Angeles.

27 Jan 2016

Limitless Salvage

Dennis Bryant

Whether driven by treasure hunting or environmental protection, the days of forgotten wrecks, even at great depths, is past. It seems like every month we see reports of long-lost maritime wrecks being discovered on the ocean bottom and treasures being salvaged from great depths. We also hear regularly of oil being recovered from sunken wrecks. There is now no practical limit to the ability to recover objects from the sea floor, regardless of depth, currents, weather, or other obstacles. The only existing obstacle seems to be financing - and costs are decreasing regularly.

08 Feb 2016

Limit Exposure with the Uniform Commercial Code

DeMarcay

Demanding assurance pursuant to the UCC may save you from sinking on someone else’s ship. Vessel operations require a large network of companies that come together to keep the entire business chain – including yours – running smoothly. Keeping the lights on and the boats running requires agreements with banks, investors, shipbuilders, component manufacturers, designers, technical specialists, repairmen, suppliers, agents and countless other entities. Many of these agreements involve relationships that have developed over time during differing market conditions.

08 Apr 2015

Voluntary Right Whale Speed Restriction Zone in Rhode Island

A voluntary vessel speed restriction zone (Dynamic Management Area - DMA) has been established in Rhode Island Sound to protect an aggregation of 4 right whales sighted in this area on April 1, 2015. This DMA is in effect immediately through April 16, 2015. Mariners are requested to route around this area or transit through it at 10 knots or less. Mariners are requested to avoid or transit at 10 knots or less inside the following areas where persistent aggregations of right whales have been sighted. Please visit www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/shipstrike for more information. - Cape Cod Bay U.S. - Mid-Atlantic U.S. - Great South Channel U.S. - Southeast U.S. Approaching a right whale closer than 500 yards is a violation of federal and state law.

19 Jan 2015

California Fines 4 Shipping Firms

The California Air Resources Board has fined four shipping companies a combined $146,719 for failing to switch from dirty diesel “bunker” fuel to cleaner, low-sulfur marine distillate fuel upon entering Regulated California Waters – within 24 nautical miles of the California coast. “State anti-pollution laws require shippers to do their part to protect air quality,” said ARB Enforcement Chief Jim Ryden. “Shippers who comply are helping to protect the health of those who live, work, and go to schools near ports and shipping lanes. Many Californians don’t realize that diesel soot and other pollutants can also travel far inland to impact communities nowhere near the sea.

24 Nov 2015

When Conducting Investigations Consider 'Privileges'

Jeffrey S. Moller

Whether voluntarily or as required by the International Safety Management Code, the American Waterways Operators’ (AWO) Responsible Carrier Program, or some other rule or regulation, investigations of accidents and near-miss situations are routinely conducted by companies in the maritime industry. This is due to the widespread recognition that careful examination of the root causes of such incidents can help to prevent future occurrences. Faulty procedures, defective equipment, and inadequate training can all be identified in the investigation exercise.