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  • Coast Guard Proposes to Clean up Environmental Regulations Governing Tankers On May 13, 2020, the USCG published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking advising of its intent to amend and update the regulations governing financial responsibility for environmental pollution under OPA 90 and CERCLA. Triggering these changes include a desire to close compliance gaps that cause untimely responses to oil spills due to operators failings to... Continue Reading... ....
  • Offshore Marine Service Association’s (OMSA) Guidelines for the Prevention and Mitigation of COVID-19 on Vessels On April 16, 2020, the Offshore Marine Service Association (OMSA) issued a memorandum providing guidance for the protection of maritime personnel on vessels during the COVID-19 pandemic. The memorandum aims to support the uninterrupted flow of the nation’s marine transportation system while maintaining the safety of maritime personnel. The guidelines contained and referenced in the... Continue Reading... ....
  • Offshore Marine Service Association’s (OMSA) Guidance on Personnel Transport During the COVID-19 Pandemic On March 25, 2020, the Offshore Marine Service Association (OMSA) issued a memorandum providing guidance on the transport of potentially infected personnel during the COVID-19 pandemic. The memorandum aims to guide the offshore service industry on using the appropriate standards and procedures prior to, during and after the transport of potentially infected personnel. The transport... Continue Reading... ....
  • Jones Act Vessel Status Update: The Louisiana Supreme Court Finds Riverboat Casino is not a Vessel in Navigation Although the riverboat casino Grand Palais was originally designed to transport people over water, and did so until 2001, and is theoretically capable of navigation, the Louisiana Supreme Court has determined that it is no longer a vessel in navigation. Don Caldwell v. St. Charles Gaming Co., 2019-1238 (La. 1/29/20),             So.3d _____. The Court’s... Continue Reading... ....
  • Update: Supreme Court Rejects Punitive Damages for Unseaworthiness Claims Today, the U.S. Supreme Court resolved a Circuit Split, holding that punitive damages are not recoverable to a seaman under an unseaworthiness claim. The Court, in a 6-3 ruling, sided with the U.S. Fifth Circuit’s analysis under McBride and reversed the U.S. Ninth Circuit’s decision in Dutra v. Batterton. The Court followed Townsend, in which... Continue Reading... ....
  • Duty to Provide Appropriate Medical Care – An Unexpected Source of Liability for Jones Act Employers Among the various duties that Jones Act employers are charged with is the duty to provide its seamen with reasonable medical care.  In a recent decision from the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, Randle v. Crosby Tugs, L.L.C., the Court considered the extent of this duty and how it may be satisfied.  The plaintiff... Continue Reading... ....
  • Jones Act Employer on Hook For Unnecessary Maintenance and Cure Payments In In the Matter of 4-K Marine, No. 18-30348 (5th Cir. Jan. 30, 2019) the U.S. Fifth Circuit held that the owner of a stationary, “innocent” vessel is not entitled to reimbursement of the medical expenses of an employee who fraudulently claimed his preexisting injuries resulted from an allision. In June 2015, the M/V TOMMY,... Continue Reading... ....
  • U.S. Supreme Court Holds Transportation Workers Exempt from Arbitration Generally, a contract is the law between parties, which has long been the position of the U.S. Supreme Court. However, as most well know, this principle is not without limitation. On January 15, 2019, in New Prime v. Oliveira, the Court unanimously held that disputes concerning contracts of employment involving transportation workers engaged in foreign... Continue Reading... ....
  • UPDATE: Supreme Court grants writs in Dutra v. Batterton Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court granted the Writ of Certiorari in the Dutra v. Batterton case, setting the stage for a resolution of the Circuit Split between the US Fifth and Ninth Circuits on whether punitive damages are available to a seaman on an unseaworthiness claim. A more thorough review of the Dutra case... Continue Reading... ....
  • U.S. 5th Circuit Defines “Operating” Under OPA In a decision of first impression interpreting the meaning of “operating” under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (“OPA,” 33 U.S.C. §§2701 et seq.), the U.S. Fifth Circuit held the owner and operator of a tugboat liable as the “responsible party” for a spill emanating from a tank barge in its tow, and consequently found... Continue Reading... ....