Maritime Injury Law Blog

A crewman suffered a head injury on Tuesday and was airlifted from a fishing vessel 50 miles off the Oregon Coast. The cause of the accident is unknown at this time. Two Coast Guard helicopters responded to the emergency. The crewman was taken to North Bend for treatment. Commercial fishermen working in Oregon and Washington continue to suffer injuries at an alarming rate. Every vessel owner owes their crewmen a safe place to work and a seaworthy vessel. In cases of serious injuries, crewmen must be evacuated for treatment as soon as possible. This is particularly true in head injury cases, where the extent of crewmen’s injuries may not be readily apparent, and complications can have delayed onset.

A crewman working aboard the fishing vessel RONDYS suffered a head injury requiring emergency medical evacuation today. The accident happened 160 miles off shore from Westport. The fishing vessel RONDYS is a 113-foot steel hulled vessel built in 1993; records indicate the vessel is owned by Rondys Tendering LLC of Westport. The crewman was airlifted to Emanuel Hospital in Portland for treatment, and his condition is unknown. What caused the accident is unknown at this time.

One passenger was airlifted to a hospital in Vancouver with possible head injuries after a British Columbia Ferry, Queen of Nanaimo, carrying 207 passengers, rammed a ferry dock on Mayne Island near Victoria. Five other persons were also injured in Tuesday’s accident. The captain of the ferry capable of carrying up to 192 vehicles apparently was unable to put the vessel in reverse and tried to drop the ferry’s anchor before colliding with the dock. Subsequent investigation found ropes in the wheel of the ferry. The ferry had reportedly run over a crab pot during the ferry trip, and it is speculated that the line in the wheel resulted in other mechanical failure. The British Columbia ferries have had ongoing problems with crab fishermen along the ferry’s route. The ferries frequently encounter crab pots along the ferry route, resulting in lines becoming entangled in the ferry’s wheel. It is unknown whether or not the captain of the Queen of Nanaimo was able to alert the passengers of the impending collision before the accident happened. Investigation into the accident will be ongoing.

Trident Seafoods has announced the purchase of Icicle Seafoods’ surimi seafood plant in Bellingham, Washington. The sale is scheduled to close on August 16, 2010. Trident is recognized as one of the largest seafood companies in North America. The transaction is part of Trident’s plan to expand its retail presence and become more vertically integrated. Trident harvests, processes and markets a wide range of products including pollock, salmon, crab, and cod. The most recognizable surimi product consumed in the United States is artificial crab and lobster. Trident targets fisheries in the Bering Sea, Gulf of Alaska, and off the coasts of Washington and Oregon. Icicle has indicated the proceeds of the sale will be reinvested in the company.

For the past ten years, maritime workers aboard ships and fishing vessels at sea have been able to cheaply stay in contact with their wives, children and girlfriends, and even run a shoreside business, utilizing the ship’s e-mail system. There has never been much privacy on a ship at sea, but most crewmen think their ship-to-shore e-mails to their wives and girlfriends are confidential. Few crewmen realize that those e-mails on company provided computers and accounts may not be confidential, even though the crewman is using a private password. A recent United States Supreme Court decision, City of Ontario v. Jeff Quon, et al., 130 S.Ct. 2366, suggests that employees utilizing company owned computers may not have a reasonable expectation of privacy that their e-mails will not be read by their employer.

Continue reading "The Slimy Sea - Employers Hacking Into Injured Crewmen’s Shipboard E-mails" »

A 61 year old crewman was evacuated from the 88-foot scallop boat EILEEN MARIE on Saturday. The crewman reportedly had been hit on the head by a scallop dredge and was barely responsive. The accident happened 50 miles off the coast of Cape May. The Eileen Marie is home ported in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The Coast Guard airlifted the crewman for emergency medical treatment at AtlaniCare Regional Hospital in Atlantic City for treatment. The cause of the accident is unknown.

Beard Stacey & Jacobsen is one of the nation’s leading maritime injury firms. A Boston jury returned a two million dollar verdict for their client last year in a case involving a New England scallop boat. Crewmen working on scallop boats are at high risk for injuries, given the nature of the dredging operation and deck work.

Tuesday, the 58-foot seiner POLAR STAR ran aground and began taking on water 65 miles west of Kodiak. The crew of the vessel issued a mayday message indicating the crew of five were abandoning ship into the vessel’s seine skiff. The Coast Guard responded to the emergency via helicopter. The crew planned to return to the vessel at high tide to see if they could refloat the vessel. The cause of the grounding was unknown. Weather conditions at the time of the accident were mild, with 23 knot winds and three-foot seas.

The 34 foot fishing boat ROSIE MARIE sank 20 miles west of the Columbia River Bar on Tuesday. The sole crewman on the vessel was able to get off a May Day message and activate his EPIRB before abandoning the sinking vessel into a life raft. The Coast Guard sent a helicopter from Astoria and a life boat from Cape Disappointment to rescue the man who was hoisted to safety by the helicopter. The crewman was taken to Astoria Oregon for medical examination. The cause of the accident is under investigation. Safety regulations relating to small fishing boats such as this are currently pending, including requirements for life rafts, EPIRB, and immersion suits. This instance again points to the fact that this safety equipment saves the lives of fishermen and the need to make such safety equipment mandatory on all fishing vessels.

Four crewmen have been rescued after their Alaska fishing boat caught fire on Sunday. The 52-foot longliner NAKAT from Kodiak caught fire about 80 miles southwest of Kodiak. The crew was unable to issue a mayday message before abandoning ship into the vessel’s life raft. The Coast Guard was alerted to the accident after receiving an EPIRB message from the vessel and immediately dispatched a rescue helicopter. The crew was located several miles away from the burning vessel and hoisted to safety. The cause of the fire is under investigation. This case again demonstrates the importance of the EPIRB and the role it plays in saving fishermen’s lives in Alaska.

Highland Light Seafoods, a Seattle Seafood Processor headquartered in Seattle, has agreed to pay a $135,00 penalty for violations of the Clean Water Act. The violations stem from an inspection of the 160 foot WESTWARD WIND in December of 2008 and involve multiple alleged violations over a five year period. The EPA charged that the WESTWARD WIND was not in compliance with its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit (NPDES). Allegations included improper discharges of waste product, failure to maintain records, excessive discharges of waste. A Spokesman for the EPA stated that “monitoring is the cornerstone of the NPDES Program and provides real time input for the company on the effectiveness of its operation. Using monitoring to improve operations is an important step in reducing the effects of discharge on the environment.