On July 7, 2012, the U.S. Coast Guard responded to an anhydrous ammonia leak on board the F/V EXCELLENCE while the fishing vessel was docked in Dutch Harbor, Alaska. According to reports, the vessel had been leaking ammonia from a one-inch pipe on the low pressure side of the refrigeration system. …
The Honorable Marsha J. Pechman issued an award on July 27, 2012 finding that the Fishing Company of Alaska was negligent for injuries sustained by Ransom Honeycutt while serving as a deckhand on board the F/V ALASKA RANGER on August 1, 2007. Honeycutt was injured as he jumped off the…
In a joint effort between the Coast Guard and the crew of the 750-foot motor vessel, Forestal Diamante, seven mariners have been rescued after they were forced to abandon ship at approximately 11 p.m. Wednesday due to a shipboard fire 316 miles northeast of Johnston Island, an unincorporated territory of…
Courts have long recognized the right of seamen to recover for injuries suffered during ingress/egress, commuting, and shore leave. The Supreme Court of the United States extended Jones Act recovery to land-based injuries in 1943, and since then recovery has become progressively more expansive. O’Donnell v. Great Lakes Dredge and…
The Coast Guard reported via news release that a MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew medevaced a fisherman who reportedly received an electric shock and was suffering from cardiac complications 172 miles northwest of Dillingham Friday. The Jayhawk crew arrived on scene with the fishing vessel Cape Horn at 1:25 p.m., safely…
Curt Ebbesmeyer, an oceanographer who tracks flotsam says he’s expecting 100 vessels carried off by the Japanese tsunami to arrive on the West Coast in the next couple of years. Several months ago, a 164-foot Japanese shrimping vessel that was swept away by the Tsunami arrived in the Gulf of…
In a meeting on Monday, May 21 the Washington State Department of Transportation recommended replacing the Mukilteo ferry terminal with a new facility approximately one-third of a mile east of the existing dock. In a press release, the department suggested that the new location, known as Elliot Point 2, best…
The Coast Guard suspended its search for six persons near Galveston at 12 p.m., Tuesday. A mayday call came in from the captain of a fishing vessel Sunday, at 1:15 p.m., reporting that the vessel was taking on water. He reported that there were six people aboard who were abandoning…
A bold and landmark ruling was recently handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court held that long term disability payments for longshoremen will now be determined by the date the disability or death occurred rather than the date the employee was first awarded compensation. This clarification removes confusion…
Ian Jefferds was nervous about the decrepit, 128-foot crab boat from the moment it was towed into the midst of the rich shellfish beds of Whidbey Island’s Penn Cove on Christmas Eve. The boat was listing and had no propulsion of its own. It was large enough that Jefferds, co-owner…