Washington Maritime Injury Lawyer Blog

COSTA CONCORDIA Passenger Claims

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:00:02 -0800

An article in the Miami Herald discussed lawsuits being instituted in behalf of passengers aboard the COSTA CONCORDIA. Two New York lawfirms claim to be representing "hundreds" of passengers.

The shipowner has offerred 11,000 euros, or about $14,500, to settle claims by the 3,206 passengers who were not physically injured. It has been noted that the settlements would total about $46 million, or 12 days of projected Carnival Cruise profits for 2012.

The Miami Herald article reports that maritime plaintiff lawyers in Miami and Los Angeles have valued the claims in the range of $60,000 to $100,000.

Both the shipowner and the lawyers treat the claims as if there were coupons. They are not. Claims for psychological damages suffered by passengers are based upon the experience of the individual person and the consequences in terms of emotional pain and suffering.

It is likely many passengers will suffer the effects of post traumatic stress disorder ("PTSD"). The nature and extent of this condition cannot be immediately known. No passenger should consider final settlement of his or her claim unless and until the emotional effects, which may be latent, are evaluated by a professional.

PTSD is a well established medical condition. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition Text Revisions (DSM–IV-TR) states:

The essential feature of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is the development of characteristic symptoms following exposure to an extreme traumatic stressor involving direct personal experience of an event that involves actual or threatened death or serious injury, or other threat to one's physical integrity; or witnessing an event that involves death, injury, or a threat to the physical integrity of another person; or learning about unexpected or violent death, serious harm, or threat of death or injury experienced by a family member or other close associate (Criterion A1). The person's response to the event must involve intense fear, helplessness, or horror (or in children, the response must involve disorganized or agitated behavior) (Criterion A2). The characteristic symptoms resulting from the exposure to the extreme trauma include persistent reexperiencing of the traumatic event (Criterion B), persistent avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma and numbing of general responsiveness (Criterion C), and persistent symptoms of increased arousal (Criterion D). The full symptom picture must be present for more than 1 month (Criterion E), and the disturbance must cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning (Criterion F). DSM–IV-TR, p.463. [Emphasis supplied.]

The manual goes on to discuss the various symptoms of PTSD, including flashbacks, avoidance, sense of foreshortened future, anxiety, sleeplessness, recurrent nightmares, outbursts of anger, as well as painful guilt feelings about surviving when others did not survive.

Symptoms of PTSD usually begin within the first three months after the trauma, although there may be a delay of months, or even years, before symptoms appear. DSM–IV-TR, p.466.

According to the National Center for PTSD, an agency of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, symptoms of PTSD may come and go over many years. About half (40% - 60%) of people who develop PTSD get better at some time. But about one out of three people who develop PTSD will always have symptoms.

As stated by the National Center for PTSD:

Symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can be terrifying. They may disrupt your life and make it hard to continue with your daily activities. It may be hard just to get through the day.

It is to be hoped that only a small percentage of the passengers who survived the wreck of the COSTA CONCORDIA will suffer from full-blown PTSD. But it would be naive for anyone who survived the ordeal to discount the possibility of emotional consequences.

The lawfirm of Anderson, Connell & Carey has represented survivors of shipwrecks who have suffered psychological effects and have been compensated accordingly. In one case, the recovery for PTSD exceeded $1,000,000. In most cases, the effects are not so profound as to warrant an award of that magnitude, but the condition can be serious and the suffering profound.

Dutch Harbor Clinic Denies T.V. Access

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 11:32:31 -0800

The Iliuliuk Family and Health Services clinic in Dutch Harbor has been caring for injured fishermen for decades. It is a beacon of compassion and competence in the North Pacific. It's commitment to professionalism is reflected in its decision not to permit a T.V. show to invade the privacy of the clinic.

The Deadliest Catch's access to scenes of injured fishermen inside the clinic has been cut off. The board of directors of the clinic unanimously declined permission to the production company to film in the building.

Before the vote was taken, clinic health care providers were asked by board chair Michelle Callaham how they felt about being rock stars and TV stars on the show that airs on the Discovery Channel featuring Bering Sea crab boats.

None spoke in favor.

Forum Selection -- A Thumb on Carnival's Side of the Scale of Justice

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:29:42 -0800

As noted in our last blog post, in the 1991 U.S. Supreme Court case of Carnival Cruise Lines v. Shute, a "choice of forum" clause in a cruise ship ticket was upheld.

In dissent, Mr. Justice John Paul Stevens explained the purpose of choice of forum clauses like the one contained in the COSTA CONCORDIA tickets:

"Clauses limiting a carrier's liability or weakening the passenger's right to recover for the negligence of the carrier's employees come in a variety of forms. Complete exemptions from liability for negligence or limitations on the amount of the potential damage recovery, requirements that notice of claims be filed within an unreasonably short period of time, provisions mandating a choice of law that is favorable to the defendant in negligence cases, and forum-selection clauses are all similarly designed to put a thumb on the carrier's side of the scale of justice."

In the Shute case, the plaintiff was a lady from Arlington, Washington. She and her husband
purchased tickets through a local travel agent. She was injured aboard the Carnival ship TROPICALE, enroute from Los Angeles to Puerta Vallarta, Mexico. The ticket called for suit in Florida.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the forum selection clause was unenforceable. The Supreme Court reversed, relying on it's previous opinion in Bremen v. Zapata Offshore (1972). That case involved a clause in a contract for towage of an oil rig from Louisiana to a location in the Adriatic Sea, calling for litigation in London. To those of us representing injured passengers, it seemed a stretch to extend the Bremen doctrine to require a lady in Arlington to travel to Florida to seek redress for injury.

Justice Stevens would have none of it. Joined by Justice Marshall, he said that the clause in question was "the product of disparate bargaining power between the carrier and the passenger" which "undermine[d] the strong public interest in deterring negligent conduct."

If the courts will not permit suit against Carnival in this country, the Congress should act to rectify the injustice resulting from Carnival v. Shute and its progeny.

Forum Selection -- A Way to Obstruct COSTA CONCORDIA Claims

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:19:31 -0800

While the parent company of the owner of the stricken Costa Concordia is based in Miami, passengers who want to file a lawsuit in U.S. courts over the cruise ship disaster will encounter obstacles in the tickets issued by the cruise line.

That's because of fine print on the tickets purchased and signed by the 3,000-plus passengers before the ship capsized Jan. 13 off the coast of Italy, killing at least 16 and leaving another 16 missing. The ticket contract includes what's known as a "choice of forum" clause stating that lawsuits must be filed in Italy.

In a 1991 case of Carnival Cruise Lines v. Shute, the U.S. Supreme Court held that such a provision in a cruise ticket was enforceable. The result has been that many claims by injured cruise ship passengers have been deterred by the expense of filing a lawsuit in a foreign court.

For a Costa cruise that touches any part of the U.S., the clauses say lawsuits should be filed in federal court in South Florida. Same for Carnival Cruises – which owns Costa – and many other major cruise lines. But for cruises such as the Concordia that involve only foreign travel, the Costa ticket says lawsuits must be brought in Genoa, Italy where much of the subsidiary's operations are based.

The clauses in the cruise industry are not as common in other forms of travel. Lawsuits against airlines, for example, can be brought virtually anyplace they do business for domestic flights; for international flights, lawyers can generally sue in the airline's home location or where the flight departed, among other venues.

Last August, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of a forum clause in a case involving Regent Seven Seas Cruises Inc. A California woman, Nina Seung, fell and broke her leg aboard a cruise ship sailing from Tahiti, then tried to sue in Fort Lauderdale federal court. Her ticket required foreign cruise lawsuits to be filed in Paris, and the appeals court rejected her challenge.

Seung, who was 74 at the time of her accident, said in court papers that the clause essentially barred the door for her.

"I do not have any savings of note right now, I am going further and further into debt each month and because I cannot work, I don't see how I can ever afford this," she said in an affidavit. "So if I am forced to go to Paris, France, I just will not be able to bring my claim."

When the Shute case was decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, lawyers representing injured passengers were discouraged. It was obvious that passengers do not meaningfully agree to the fine print on the back of tickets issued by the cruise line. This is a classic "contract of adhesion," in which one party has never had any choice but to accept the terms, no matter how unconscionable.

Another Shipwreck! Packed Ferry Sinks

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:54:40 -0800

Rescuers pulled more than 200 survivors from the ocean on Thursday (February 2) as the search for more passengers from a packed ferry that sank off the coast of Papua New Guinea was set to extend into Friday, rescue officials said.

The fate of scores of others aboard the ferry, the MV Rabaul Queen, was unknown.

Rescue agencies estimated that the MV Rabaul Queen had been carrying 300 to 350 people when it sank early Thursday about 10 miles off the northern coast of Papua New Guinea. Nearby commercial ships rescued 238 people from the sea, said Capt. Nurur Rahman, the rescue coordinator for Papua New Guinea’s National Maritime Safety Authority.

The ferry sank between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. local time, Captain Rahman said, as it was traveling from Kimbe on the island of New Britain to the town of Lae on the main island. The ferry sent a distress signal that was received in Australia and relayed to the maritime authority in Papua New Guinea.

The MV Rabaul Queen has a capacity of 300 passengers, but Captain Rahman said he did not know how many were aboard. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority said in its online updates that as many as 350 people were believed to be aboard the ferry.

The cause of the accident was not known, Captain Rahman said.

“Right now, we’re making all efforts to fast-track rescue operations while the sun is still up,” he said.

Whether rescue operations would continue through the night remained unclear. Captain Rahman said the search would likely be suspended until dawn Friday because of rough weather, The Associated Press reported. But the Australian maritime agency said Thursday night that search ships “remained in the area.”

Strong northwesterly winds and sea swells of up to 5 meters, or about 16 feet, were reported by ships at the scene of the sinking, the Australian maritime agency said.

Prime Minister Peter O’Neill of Papua New Guinea said the authorities would investigate the cause of the sinking, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Earlier on Thursday, Prime Minister Julia Gillard of Australia, whose country coordinates maritime rescue operations with Papua New Guinea, warned of a heavy loss of life. Speaking to reporters in Melbourne, Ms. Gillard described the sinking as a “major tragedy.” Australia sent an airplane to join at least six ships and three helicopters Papua New Guinea had deployed to find survivors.

“Given the likely very high loss of life here, I think when this news comes to the attention of Australians around the country they will be thinking about the people of P.N.G. as they respond to this tragedy,” Ms. Gillard said, The A.P. reported.

Ferries are commonly used for travel around the archipelago nation of seven million people. While rich in natural resources, Papua New Guinea remains relatively poor, beset by the high cost of developing infrastructure and continuing political instability.

Papua New Guinea has a history of political violence, including a decade-long civil war involving the mineral-rich island of Bougainville. Last month an attempted coup against Mr. O’Neill failed.

Source: New York Times

Marina Explosion Seriously Injures Boater

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:27:58 -0800

A boat exploded last night at the John Wayne Marina in Sequim, Washington, seriously injuring a man on board.

The 40-foot boat blew up about 5:45 last night at the "C" dock in the marina.

Fire District Three spokesman Patrick Young says the explosion was so large, boats within 75 yards were also damaged. One couple on a boat two slips away was knocked down due to the force. An unidentified 78-year-old man was in the hull of the boat which exploded, covered in debris. He was removed from the water and taken to Olympic Medical Center with serious burns.

Fire and Coast Guard crews spent the night containing spilled fuel and oil that came after the boat sank.

The cause of the explosion is still under investigation.

Black Sea Shipwreck

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:04:34 -0800

A dry cargo ship sank off the Black Sea coast of Turkey Tuesday and eight members of the 11-strong Polish crew were missing, Turkish media said.

The Cambodian-registered dry cargo ship Vera was sailing from Russia to the Turkish Aegean port of Aliaga and sank in a storm one mile off the coast of the Black Sea port of Zonguldak, CNN Turk said.

Three members of the crew were saved and taken to hospital, the television channel said, but coast guards and police were still searching for the eight others.

Turkey has been hit by extreme weather and snow storms over the past week. There were gale warnings Tuesday for parts of the Marmara, Black Sea and Aegean, a shipping agent said.

Source: Reuters

Shipowner Fault in COSTA CONCORDIA Disaster

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 12:07:37 -0800

The London newspaper Guardian reported yesterday that Carnival Cruise Lines has opened talks on compensation with the survivors of last week's shipwreck.

One may assume that, in keeping with the practice of vessel owners and their underwriters in other shipwreck cases, Carnival is trying to settle quickly with claimants, before they retain lawyers to investigate the facts and make claim for the full amounts due under the maritime law.

Based upon facts which are coming to light, enormous sums will be due to compensate the families of the dead and survivors who have been traumatized by the disaster.

Eleven passengers and crew are known to have died, and 21 are still not accounted for.

Prosecutors investigating the disaster were, according to the Guardian report, anxious to explore why more than an hour had elapsed between the moment at which the liner hit a rock, and the order to abandon ship.

Investigators wanted to know whether the 68-minute period that elapsed during the course of these calls was because Schettino had underplayed or underestimated the gravity of the damage sustained by the liner, or because Costa Cruises, a subsidiary of Miami-based Carnival, had been reluctant to sanction a decision to evacuate that might cost it millions of euros in compensation, the paper said.

If the latter motive impeded Carnival's response to the shipwreck in any degree, this would seem to provide sound basis for punitive damage claims under the maritime law. These are damages awardable for callous, wilful and outrageous behavior.

The company has tried to place the entire blame for the incident on the captain. At a news conference the company's chairman said the captain had not sought permission to deviate from his route in order to skirt the shoreline of Giglio, reportedly as a tribute to a retired skipper living on the island.

But new evidence has emerged of another "salute" made by the COSTA CONCORDIA as it passed within a few hundred yards of a different Italian island.

Evidence of Costa Cruises' enthusiasm for "salutes" can be found on the firm's blog in an entry describing how, in September 2010, the Costa Concordia under Schettino's command passed close to the island of Procida in the bay of Naples.

The blog said the salute provided "great excitement not only for the islanders but also for the numerous tourists present ... [It was] doubtless a joy and a novelty for all, including the guests of the Costa Concordia, ready with their cameras on the external decks to immortalise that unique moment and celebrate and salute with flags and handkerchiefs."

Costa Cruises' chairman said the company had reviewed the COSTA CONCORDIA's intended course and that the vessel was not to pass within 500 yards of the island.

But his assertion has been called into question by the London maritime daily Lloyds List, which published a map based on Lloyds List Intelligence tracking data. This indicated that the earlier course took the Costa Concordia within 230 metres of land, close to the point at which the ship hit the rocks last Friday.

All indications are that Carnival's Italian subsidiary was at fault in several respects:

1. An incompetent captain was placed in command of the ship.

2. The practice of "saluting" (one might as well say "buzzing") islands was not only tolerated but, in fact, encouraged by the ship operator.

3. No abandon ship drill was conducted at the outset of the voyage.

4. The order to abandon ship may have been delayed on the basis of financial
considerations.

Much further investigation of each of these and other allegations of shipowner's fault will be conducted. However, any maritime lawyer viewing this disaster will recognize that Carnivel Cruise Lines' subsidiary was negligent at the very least. For punitive damages to be awarded, more than negligence will need to be shown, and it appears more than negligence may be necessary to break limitation of liability under the applicable law. (See, previous BOATLAW Blog post.) Early reports indicate that more than mere negligence may well have been involved.

Sirens of the Island of Giglio

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:59:58 -0800

To those of us who live in Puget Sound country, the Italian cruise ship tragedy calls to mind a similiar episode in our local waters. In 1983, the 2800 gross ton state ferry ELWHA grounded on a reef just off Orcas Island, in the scenic San Juans. In that case, the skipper deliberately deviated from the ferry's customary course through the center of Harney Channel to gain a better view of a house on the shore of Orcas and struck a rock. He did this to show a female passenger (who was in the wheelhouse in violation of regulations) how her house looked from the water. Severe damage to the hull of the vessel resulted, but there was no serious injury or loss of life. The incident is recalled almost whimsically in maritime lore, the female passenger referred to mythically as the "Siren of the San Juans."

The grounding of the COSTA CONCORDIA will never be recalled with anything but sadness and perhaps, when all the facts are known, a sense of outrage. Initial reports suggest malfeasance on the part of the cruise line. Although the shipowner has been quick to lay all blame on the skipper, this is a standard ploy. But upon more thorough investigation, it is likely that Carnival Cruise Lines, will be shown to have compromised marine safety in service of profit. This is a recurrent theme in cases of shipwreck.

In the Italian case, it appears cruise lines had routinely permitted the practice of "buzzing" the islands to please passengers and, presumably, prospective customers ashore. Yet when this practice resulted in grounding, as could have been anticipated by prudent shipowners, all blame was immediately heaped upon the master who breached the often tested edge of the envelope.

The early reports also raise questions about the adequacy of abandon ship drills. Once again, this sort of activity makes no contribution to and may detract from the perceived pleasure of the passengers. The overriding motive being profit, safety practices suffer.

An archaic principle of maritime law permits a ship owner to limit its liability arising from a maritime casualty to the value of the vessel and pending freight. Under U.S maritime law, this protection can be claimed if the casualty occurred without the "privity or knowledge" of the vessel owner. Historically, operational negligence of the master has often been deemed to be outside the owner's privity and knowledge -- hence Carnival's knee jerk reaction, to blame a discrete and unexpectable act of the captain.

Under international maritime law, unaltered by U.S. statute, a shipowner may limit liabilty even if he was negligent, provided it is not proven that "the loss resulted from his personal act or omission, committed with the intent to cause such a loss, or recklessly and with knowledge that such a loss would probably result." Convention of Limitation of Liablity for Maritime Claims. Under this standard, breaking limitation may be a tall order.

In the first days following this tragedy, even as the death toll remains unknown, it is too early to predict the outcome of litigation. But it seems highly likely that a measure of fault will, in the end, be laid at the doorstep of Carnival Cruise Lines management. Unlike the owners of the TITANIC, the owners of the COSTA CONCORDIA permitted a vessel equipped with radar and GPS to run aground on a charted reef. This seems unimaginable in the absence of managerial negligence. One question is whether the captain's fault can be imputed to management. Another is whether the shipowner's own conduct will be shown to have reached the level of recklessness.

The Mediterranean situs of the wreck makes it difficult to resist the Odyssean metaphor invoked in the ELWHA case. For reasons as yet undetermined, the captain of the COSTA CONCORDIA seems to have been lured by sirens on Giglio. As Carnival management was no doubt aware, other skippers had been similiarly inclined. But they could have easily been chained to the mast by strictly enforced rules and computer actuated alarms. Why were they not?

Carnival Cruise Stock Plummets in Wake of Italian Tragedy

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 12:39:16 -0800

More than £300m has been wiped off the paper fortune of the multibillionaire boss of the company that owned the stricken cruise liner Costa Concordia.

Micky Arison, the flamboyant chairman, chief executive and majority owner of Carnival, saw a large chunk of his $4.5bn (£2.9bn) holdings dissolve on Monday as the company's shares lost almost a fifth of their value.

The shares collapsed by as much as 23% before ending the day 17% lower at £18.65 – their biggest fall for a decade. That wiped more than £1bn off the market value of the company and £300m from Arison's 30% stake.

The fall was precipitated by fears that the shipwreck will put holidaymakers off booking cruises for this year's summer holidays and Carnival warned that it was "not possible to determine" the full cost of the wreck, which killed at least six people. Carnival said the Costa Concordia would be out of action until at least November and put initial estimates of the cost at $95m (£62m).

However, analysts said the final amount is likely to be greater. "This tragedy will be a black mark on the cruise industry and a negative headline for Carnival," said Tim Ramskill, an analyst at Credit Suisse. "If the industry didn't already face enough challenges, this unfortunate event will reverberate on the group over the near-term. While these accidents are extremely rare, the extensive media coverage will likely curtail some booking activity and pressure pricing during the critical season."

Wyn Ellis, an analyst at Numis Securities, warned that the incident will put people off booking cruises in the "key point in the booking cycle" as people begin to plan summer holidays. About a third of cruise bookings are made between January and March. "People will cancel, and others will look at alternatives," he said. "There will, justifiably, be questions about the adequacy of management and emergency operational procedures on board which may have longer term cost implications."

Arison, whose father Ted founded Carnival in 1972, said: "At this time, our priority is the safety of our passengers and crew. We are deeply saddened by this tragic event and our hearts go out to everyone affected by the grounding of the Costa Concordia, and especially to the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives. They will remain in our thoughts and prayers."

Ranked the world's 169th richest person by Forbes magazine, Arison collected $7m in pay and bonuses from Carnival in 2010. The company's board is due to publish his pay for last year later this month. His bonus, which came in at $2.25m last time, is likely to be scaled back. The company's annual report states that its compensation committee considers safety and security matters, among other factors, when determining executive compensation.

Last year Arison, who also owns NBA basketball team Miami Heat, was fined $500,000 for tweeting about the basketball league's pay negotiations with star players.

The disaster is likely to become the biggest insured loss in maritime history, with analysts putting the total payout by insurers at up to $1bn.

The ship, which cost €450m (£372m), is insured for €405m by insurers including XL, RSA and Generali, according to industry sources. Joy Ferneyhough, an analyst at Espirito Santo, said injury and other liability claims could push the total cost to insurers as high as $1bn.

"Initial comments from various insurers and underwriters over the weekend suggest that the insurance loss from the Costa Concordia will likely be $500m-$1bn," she said.

One of Carnival's biggest institutional shareholders, who did not wish to be named, said: "The statement confirming insurance cover is reassuring. The big unknown for investors now is what happens to customer confidence in the Costa brand.

"Micky Arison is well-liked in the industry – staff and investors. Unlike many children who take over businesses founded by their fathers, he has a real grasp of detail and the numbers – and works tirelessly for the company."

The boss of Carnival's Italian subsidiary again blamed the Costa Concordia's captain for the tragedy. Pier Luigi Foschi, chief executive of Costa Crociere, said at a press conference: "The company will be close to the captain and will provide him with all the necessary legal assistance, but we need to acknowledge the facts and to protect all the other 24,000 employees and we cannot, unfortunately, deny human error."

Carnival at a glance

• The world's biggest cruise operator. Brands include Cunard and P&O.

• Eleven brands operate 98 ships with 191,000 berths. Ten new ships scheduled to join the fleet by May 2014.

• Europe generated 38% of its $14.4bn revenues in 2010, with its Genoa-based Italian subsidiary, Costa Crociere, the continent's largest brand.

• Carnival bought P&O Princess Cruises in 2003, three years after it was spun off from Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co. It also operates Holland America Princess Alaska Tours, the leading tour company in Alaska and the Canadian Yukon.

• The full list of Carnival brands is: Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Seabourn, AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises, Cunard, Ibero Cruises, P&O Cruises (UK) and P&O Cruises (Australia).

Source: The Guardian, London.

Italian Cruise Ship Tragedy

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 12:15:05 -0800

Rescue efforts aboard the sunken Costa Concordia luxury cruise liner off the coast of Tuscany were halted Monday morning when rough seas caused the ship to shift, endangering divers and rescue workers who have been searching around the clock for survivors. Hours before operations were suspended, a male victim was found in an above-water section of the ship with his lifejacket on, bringing the number of fatalities from the Friday the 13th maritime disaster up to six. Three survivors have been rescued since the ship was evacuated in the early hours of Saturday morning.

In Genoa, Pierluigi Foschi, president of the Costa Crociere cruise line, held a press conference in which he blamed Capt. Francesco Schettino, 52, for “deviating from the authorized route” and taking matters into his own hands. He reserved judgment on the captain’s action until the company has access to the ship’s black box to study the evidence—but he conceded that “it may well be grave human error.”

Schettino faces up to 15 years in prison if he is convicted of manslaughter and abandoning ship. He is under house arrest with the ship’s first mate, Ciro Ambrosio, who is also under investigation. Schettino’s lawyer, Bruno Leporatti, told an Italian wire service that his client was the last to leave the ship—even though local media reported seeing him on the shore as lifeboats were still making landfall the night of the accident. The local Giglio newspaper reported that some crew members urged Schettino to go back to the ship at one point during the evacuation. Leporatti says Schettino’s actions showed “great nautical skills and allowed many passengers to reach safety.” A judge will make a ruling on Tuesday about whether Schettino should remain in custody during the investigation. More than 100 crew members and some passengers have been interrogated since the crash occurred.

As the investigation moves forward, there is little doubt that the ship was traveling far too close to the tiny tourist island of Giglio when it hit a reef or rocky sandbar (one rock is still visibly embedded in the ship’s crumpled hull). Residents of Giglio confirmed that it was a regular occurrence for these giant ships to “buzz” the island. Giglio’s mayor, Sergio Ortelli, said that it was a common practice for cruise-ship captains to “fly by” the island, flash their lights, and blow the ship's horn three times to greet friends of the ship’s officers. Ortelli said he didn’t know if that’s what happened Friday night, but he admitted that it seemed “probable.” Last August, Ortelli even wrote a letter of thanks to the cruise line for making the pass and delighting the tourists and residents.

For now, search and recovery efforts have been hampered by changing weather conditions. Heavy sea storms are forecast in the area for Wednesday, causing concern that this accident may turn into an environmental disaster. Italy’s environmental minister, Corrado Clini, has called a group of experts to study just how they can prevent a major fuel spill. The cruise ship was carrying some 2,400 TOE (tons of oil equivalent) of fuel, separated into 17 reinforced compartments, but some fuel has already leaked into the Mediterranean Sea. “The risk of a spill for the entire area is extremely high,” Clini said. “We’re doing everything we can to monitor the situation.”

But efforts to secure the partially sunken ship are proving to be a logistical nightmare. Maritime-salvage experts have said they will eventually try to lift the ship onto giant balloons, anchored by cranes, but it may take weeks to put that system in place. Meanwhile the ship is vulnerable and could even drift farther out into the sea, making rescue efforts even more difficult. On Monday the massive wreckage suddenly shifted nine centimeters vertically and 1.5 centimeters horizontally, causing a scraping noise that sent rescuers scrambling.

Officials on the ground say there are still 10 missing passengers and as many as six missing crewmen, according to Luca Cari, the spokesperson for the fire brigade overseeing rescue operations in Giglio and Porto Santo Stefano, but Foschi refused to confirm an exact number, calling the situation fluid. Cari speculated that perhaps the cruise line didn’t have an exact list of crew members on file and that the discrepancy is the product of careless recordkeeping. Of the 10 missing passengers, two may be Americans. The American Embassy in Rome tweeted, “The US Embassy has revised the estimated number of Americans aboard the #Costa #Concordia down to 120, of which 118 have been accounted for.” It also confirmed it has helped 100 Americans get emergency passports since Saturday morning.

On Monday afternoon, an official from the German Consulate in Rome told Ansa News Service that there were 11 Germans missing in the accident, calling into question the accuracy of the reports.

What worries authorities on Giglio is that there may actually be more than 16 people unaccounted for. Many family members have come forward to report missing relatives, bringing the number of missing higher than 16. The discrepancies have caused anger and frustration among survivors, as has, in their view, a total lack of accountability by the cruise company. Benji Smith and his newlywed wife are staying at a hotel in Rome but on Sunday had still not heard anything from the cruise company. Smith told CNN that the company has not reached out to them or reimbursed them for their lost possessions despite their efforts to reach out. “It’s as if no one is in charge,” he said.

Residents confirmed that it was a regular occurrence for these giant ships to “buzz” the island.
Costa Crociere posted some news and a letter of condolence on its website, and some survivors and family members have created a Facebook page where they are posting pictures and comments and airing frustrations with the way the aftermath of the disaster was conducted.

With stormy seas suspending rescue operations, the hopes of finding anyone alive are greatly diminished, and the mystery of why this giant ship found its way to rest on the rocky shores of Giglio may take many more months to solve.

Source: The Daily Beast

Factory Trawler Takes on Water at Dock in Seattle

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:39:16 -0800

The ARICA, a factory trawl fishing vessel at a dry dock on the east side of Lake Union, began taking on water one day last week. Crews members were pumping out water from the boat when they lost power and called the Seattle Fire Department around 5:15 a.m.

Fire department crews arrived and began helping pump out water. A fire department boat, police boat and the Coast Guard also responded.

Pumps were able to bring the water level down to 15 inches. The shore power, which was lost earlier in the morning, was restored and boat crews have resumed pumping out water. Seattle Fire Department crews have left the scene.

There were no reports of injuries and all crew members were accounted for. Responders say the vessel is at no threat of sinking into the lake.

Crews at the scene believe the sea chest, a device at the base of the boat that lets in sea water into the boat, may have a leak. Crews plan to send divers to pinpoint the problem.

"They're still trying to assess what's going on inside the ship. They had a couple of explanations, so that's why that want to get divers into the water," said Seattle Fire Department spokesman Kyle Moore.

Moore said no fuel has leaked into the water on Lake Union. The water from the boat is being pumped into a sewage drainage system, so no oily water from the engine room gets into Lake Union.

The Arica has been at the dry dock the past couple of weeks. It was set to go to Alaska on a fishing expedition in January. Boat crews say they don't plan on taking the vessel anywhere until they determine what the problem is.

Coast Guard Renders Aid to Disabled Ship Near Adak

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 11:39:43 -0800

On December 8, 2011, crews with the Coast Guard Cutter Sherman and an Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter delivered steering system technicians to the 650-foot cargo ship MORNING CEDAR at a location 17 miles from Bobrof Island in the Aleutian Islands.

The cargo vessel suffered a steering casualty while in transit from Canada to Japan with 23 crew aboard and a load of packaged timber. The Coast Guard began monitoring the drifting vessel on December 5, when the master reported the steering malfunction.

SWANLAND Mirrors Alaska Shipwreck Cases

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 10:34:24 -0800

The facts of the tragic sinking of the SWANLAND resemble those in Alaska fish boat cases.

Although, as noted in our earlier post, the SWANLAND is a Russian vessel, it was British managed. The British Maritime and Coastguard Agency is therefore conducting an investigation, much as the U.S. Coast Guard would conduct a marine casualty investigation.

The cargo ship which sank in the Irish Sea off Gwynedd, Wales with the loss of six crew had been at the center of repeated safety concerns, the BBC reported.

An analysis of safety inspection records for the SWANLAND reveals a high number of failings.

Members of the crew claim the vessel was vulnerable in rough seas because of a history of unsafe loading. This has been a recurrent issue in Alaska shipwreck cases.

The ship's operator, Torbulk Limited, said it had been regularly inspected and any faults "promptly rectified". This is the typical response by vessel interests after a loss such as this, but the 34-year-old British-managed ship had a history of defects, according to safety inspections by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. Over the past five years, 85 faults were highlighted - including cracks in the ship's decks and defective life-saving equipment identified in May this year. Marine safety management expert Dr Phil Anderson said that, even allowing for the ship's age, the number of defects seemed surprisingly high.

"You wouldn't expect to see that number of deficiencies. It's quite serious. It could indicate a systemic breakdown of safety systems."

Former crew members have also raised concerns about the techniques used to load the ship.

Alexander Tsybin, a former Russian captain who worked on board the Swanland for 11 years, believes the vessel's hull had been weakened by the way the cargo was sometimes loaded to save time on each voyage.

Instead of loading evenly from either end, it would be deposited in the middle.

"While the ship was being loaded, it would cave in a little, and while it was being unloaded, it would bulge out," he said.

"So the middle of the ship would always be subject to pressure which meant that in the end it became weakened."

Maritime safety experts have also told the BBC that loading heavy, unsecured cargo into a single hull could cause displacement which might cause a ship to roll in bad weather.

They say the combination of the crew's concerns about loading and the historical defects involving structural safety and cracked decks "give rise for concern".

The vessel was caught in a gale force 8 storm off the Lleyn Peninsula, north Wales, at the end of November.

According to Vitaliy Karpenko, one of the two survivors from the all-Russian crew, the ship's hull suddenly cracked.

"It broke in half right across the middle. I saw it with my own eyes," he said. "We saw through the porthole that it was hopeless trying to save her."

The ship's Grimsby-based operator Torbulk Shipping said in a statement that it understood the vessel was loaded in accordance with good practice, adding: "Any working sea-going cargo vessel... will be inspected on a regular basis and may incur minor deficiencies.

"These deficiencies are required to be promptly rectified or the vessel would not be permitted to trade.

"We are unable to comment on specific instances. However, we can state that any deficiencies identified are always rectified within the time-scale specified [by the authorities]."

The vessel, which was British-owned, was flagged to the tiny Cook Islands in the Pacific.

The islands have a higher number of ships with safety problems, and the international shipping authorities regard their flag as inferior to those from European maritime regulators.

As the official British maritime investigation and civil litigation proceed, it seems unlikely that vessel interests will be able to sustain their burden of showing that they exercised due diligence to see that the SWANLAND was seaworthy when she departed Wales enroute to the Isle of Wight. An oceangoing ship should be able to withstand Force 8 winds without breaking in half.

Injured Alaskan Crewman Defeats Owner’s Limited Liability Claim-In the Matter of the Complaint of Leo, LLC et al. v. Flora

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 20:55:08 -0800

Under maritime law, vessel owners facing liability for an injured crewman can petition the court to limit their liability to the value of the vessel and pending freight. They make the request pursuant to the Limitation of Shipowner’s Liability Act (Act), 46 U.S.C. §30501. In order to limit its liability, the ship owner must show, by a preponderance of the evidence, the negligent acts or unseaworthy conditions that caused the crewman’s injury were not within their privity or knowledge. The owners of a fish tender in Alaska tried to limit their liability after a fisherman was injured by a broken crane hook. A federal court in Washington dismissed the owner’s petition.

Matthew Flora, 35, worked as a seaman on moving vessel LEO, which was owned by Coastal Villages Seafoods, LLC and other owners (petitioners). LEO is an ex-U.S. military landing and recovery craft modified to include two “knuckle” cranes installed in May 2007. The crane hooks were designed to have safety latches to keep heavy loads on the crane hook. LEO’s port side crane hook did not have a safety latch.

On June 12, 2009, LEO was being used as a fish tender vessel off the western coast of Alaska. On the first day of the voyage, within 3 miles of Alaska’s shore, LEO’s crew lowered the crane, with a brailer and scale, to a halibut catcher vessel, which loaded the fish to “lift” back to LEO. LEO’s crew would then ice the fish in totes before transporting them to shore for processing. As LEO’s crew loaded the halibut onto the vessel, the brailer and scale popped out of the crane hook. The scale struck Flora, who suffered a fractured skull and permanent brain injury. Flora sued petitioners under the Jones Act, claiming their negligence caused his injuries. Petitioners requested to limit their liability under the Act.

In this case, Flora sustained his burden of proving negligence. The petitioners, however, could not limit their liability because they knew of LEO’s unseaworthiness and were in privity with the vessel’s negligent manager. LEO was not seaworthy because its crane hook, without a safety clasp, was not reasonably fit for its intended purpose. LEO’s captain admitted he knew the crane lacked a safety latch when the vessel sailed from Seward, Alaska. The vessel manager likewise knew the hook was defective, but never took effective measures to ensure the hook was repaired. His actions and omissions constitute negligence and were the cause of Flora’s injuries. Petitioner’s knowledge of LEO’s unseaworthy condition and their negligent failure to remedy the defective equipment undermines their claim that they lacked “privity or knowledge” of the cause of Flora’s injury. Accordingly, the ship owners could not limit their liability under the Act. Their petition for limitation of liability was dismissed with prejudice.