News

Maritime and Jones Act Workers Claims

• Two Crew Members Killed in Oil Tanker Fire While Welding
  Mar 05, 2010

  Two workers on the tanker MT Hercules, identified as Sylvester Keterim, 24,and Shezi Chang Shiah Joo, 22, both from Sabah, were killed onboard the vessel in a fire Tuesday night.

  These two workers were doing welding work on one of the oil tanks in the tanker when it suddenly exploded.  The rescue team sent out in the area overcame the flames with the help of the tanker crew.

  Both maritime workers are believed to have been killed on the spot.  A section of the 322m ship, which anchored about three nautical miles south off Pulau Kukup, Pontian, caught fire after the explosion.  The ship was anchored in Kukup waters to undergo maintenance work.
  
  On board this oil tanker were 24 crew and 20 contract workers, comprising Malaysian, Indonesian, Philippines and Indian nationals.  The vessel was registered in Port Klang.

  The additional crew members and maritime workers are safe and remain on the tanker.
  
  Fires on board oil tankers are more dangerous than on board other maritime vessels because of the high flammability of the oil.  You are basically sitting on a bomb when you work on board an oil tanker; the ship's entire cargo is flammable liquid.  Oil tankers and supertankers are not even allowed to come into some ports because of the volatility of the ship's cargo.  This oil tanker may have had onboard equipment that was not properly maintained, leading to the explosion.  If this is the case, the vessel can be considered unseaworthy.

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• Texas Man Dies While Diving Near Key Largo, Florida
  Mar 04, 2010

  57-year-old Thomas Pickett of Rockwall, Texas died while diving near Key Largo, Florida in water about 20 feet deep at Elbow Reef yesterday. 

  His dive partner says he did not appear to have trouble during the dive, but other witnesses say Pickett surfaced and began to have trouble.  

  Authorities say he was pulled into the boat and was unconscious. He stopped breathing and crew on board the boat began to perform CPR. Paramedics met the boat at shore and transported Pickett to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.  

  An autopsy will be done to determine the cause of his death.

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• Danish NATO Destroyer Sinks Maritime Pirate Vessel off Somalia
  Mar 01, 2010

  NATO says one of its destroyers, the Danish warship HDMS Absalon, has sunk a pirate mothership off the Somali coast, after allowing the crew to leave.  The Danish flagship is one of the three-vessel NATO flotilla in the region.  The 6,300-ton Absalon, commissioned in 2007, serves as the flagship of the NATO flotilla. It arrived off Somalia in January.

  The warship scuttled the pirate skiff in the Somali Basin, also known as the Indian Ocean (called the Basin to deliniate it from the adjacent Gulf of Aden where most pirate attacks take place).

  The mothership was fired on and sunk after its crew members were transferred to a smaller boat in tow, which was allowed to return to the mainland.

  Piracy in the region has soared in correllation with the rule of law crumbling in Somalia.  Maritime pirates plague the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, one of the world's busiest areas for sea transportation.

  NATO maintains a three-ship flotilla - which also includes the frigates USS Boone and the British HMS Chatham - to fight the pirates.  The European Union has a separate, six-ship squadron in the region as part of its anti-piracy mission known as Operation Atalanta, as do other nations such as the United States, India, Russia, and China.

  
  For more information on maritime piracy, please contact Dennis McElwee at Schechter, McElwee, Shaffer & Harris, LLP or click on our web site. 

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• Hawaii Urges all Vessels, Crew to Evacuate Harbor Areas Before Tsunami
  Feb 27, 2010

  As tsumani warnings become more rapid and more stringent, Hawaii urges all vessels and ground crew in the harbor areas to evacuate immediately.  Heavy warnings remain in effect along the coast of Central Chile after massive earthquakes have already shaken the country and around 50 aftershocks have continued to hammer its population.  This earthquake is what precipitated the tsunami warning for the Hawaiian islands.
  
  The tsunami could cause damage along coastlines of all Hawaiian islands and urgent action should be taken to protect lives and property according to tsunami.gov.  
  
  A tsunami is a series of long waves with each waves potentially cresting 5-15 minutes or more.  Extensive flooding is expected in coastal areas as a result of these waves.  Danger continues for many hours after the tsunami waves begin.  The waves will pick up debris and carry it, making these waves even more destructive.
  
  Most tsunamis that affect Hawaii originate from seismically active areas around the Pacific.  In particular, areas where tectonic plates are in collision along the west coast of South America.  These plate collisions generate most of the world's tsunamigenic earthquakes.  After a Chilean earthquake like the recent one, residents of Hawaii have time to prepare for an incoming tsunami (around 10 hours).  The United States government recommends that people stay tuned to local radio and TV to determine when and if they should evacuate to higher ground. 
  
  The tsunami waves are estimated to hit Hawaii at 11:05 am today, Saturday February 27, 2010.
  
  Our firm's thoughts and prayers are with the people of Chile in this time of great tragedy for their country.  We advise all seafarers and vessel owners and operators in Hawaii, Mexico and Southern California to stay abreast of the Coast Guard advisories and take all available precautions to secure your vessels and evacuate your crew from coastal areas.

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• Three Crew Killed as Cruise Ship Rams Egyptian Pier
  Feb 26, 2010

  A Costa Cruises ship crashed into a pier early today as it was docking at the Red Sea port of Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt, killing three crew members, an Indian, a Honduran and a Brazilian, and injuring four, three British women and an Italian man.  The cruise ship had 1,437 passengers on board at the time of the accident.

  Costa Cruises says in a statement that the 1,494-passenger Costa Europa was pulling into the Egyptian resort town, hit the pier, and reported damage on the right side.  The collision is said by some officials to have left a two meter (yard) hole in the body of the ship.

  Area meteorologists were forecasting heavy rains and hail, flooding, dangerous naval navigation conditions, and warned road travelers to avoid highways.  Several ports were closed because of bad weather and dozens of road accidents have occurred.

  Costa says the vessel now is safely docked. Photos of the ship show the vessel listing notably to port.

  Costa canceled the current voyage of the vessel and plans to fly its passengers home.

  The 55,000-ton vessel Costa Europa has been sailing for Costa since 2002.

  The cause of the crash is being blamed on "exceptionally bad weather conditions" and "an unexpected wind blow."
  
  Sailing in dangerous weather conditions is always a bad idea.  Cruise companies in a rush to move to the next port and not lose time on their voyage may attempt to rush through rough seas, putting both the crew and the passengers lives in jeopardy.  Working as a seaman in dangerous weather conditions is perilous as the vessel can roll violently.  We have represented numerous injured seamen who were forced to work offshore during hurricanes.  In those extreme weather conditions, the ship can lose power, the structure of ship breaks, and doors and vessel equipment slam on people.
  
  If you would like to discuss an injury that occured while working in a maritime environment, please contact us at info@smslegal.com.

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• Cruise Ship Crewmember Overboard in Hawaiian Islands
  Feb 22, 2010

  The United States Coast Guard continues to search for a male cruise ship crewmember from the Pacific Venus.  The 24-year-old crewmember was reported overboard on Saturday after he failed to show up for work.  At that time, the ship turned around to look for the man overboard.

  The 550-foot cruise ship was located in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands on its way back to Yokohama, Japan.  The cruise ship spent several hours Saturday afternoon before sunset looking for him.  Two Coast Guard aircrews searched for hours before landing for the night.

  A Good Samaritan vessel, the Japanese training sailing vessel Nippon Maru, answered a call to help through the Automated Mutual-Assistance Vessel Rescue (AMVER) program, and is on scene searching.

  The Pacific Venus has notified the missing crewmember's family in Japan.

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• Matt Shaffer's Case on Cover of Professional Mariner Magazine
  Feb 17, 2010

  SMSH Partner Matt Shaffer represents Mrs. Laura Cloudy, widow of a tugboat captain who was killed in a fall from a ladder aboard his vessel in the Houston Ship Channel.
  
  Charles Langston Cloudy, 54 and a a licensed master of towing vessels, sadly died when he fell about 7 feet from a ladder on Oct. 8, 2009, at a dock in Channelview, Texas.
  
  Witnesses had seen him on the 57-foot vessel's second level moments before his body was discovered face-down on the galley level with catastrophic injuries to his head.
  
  Cloudy, of Hemphill, Texas, had been an employee of Houston-based Hard's Marine Service Ltd. for 15 years.
  
  The cause of death was blunt trauma to the head with skull fractures and brain injuries. The medical examiner ruled the death an accident.
  
  Mr. Shaffer recently reached a confidential settlement on behalf of Mrs. Cloudy less than four months after Mr. Cloudy's death.
  
  Working with the surviving families after a catastrophic maritime accident is something that the maritime lawyers of Schechter, McElwee, Shaffer & Harris, LLP have done for over 45 years.  For a confidential discussion about your offshore accident or Death on the High Seas Act case, please contact us at info@smslegal.com or toll-free at 1800-282-2122.

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• Fire Aboard Turkish Cargo Ship Severely Burns Crewmember
  Feb 15, 2010

  A Turkish cargo ship caught fire while anchored in Georgian territorial waters.  Territorial waters, are a belt of coastal waters extending at most twelve nautical miles from a coastal state. Territorial waters are the sovereign territory of the state, and foreign ships are allowed innocent passage.

  One person was injured as a result of fire.  The cause of the blaze remains unreported.

  Any rescue operations ihave been complicated by very strong storms on the sea. 
  
  When extinguishing fire, crewmember George Podbelsky suffered serious burns, was taken ashore, and hospitalized.

  The affected cargo ship was sailing under Turkish flag and was loaded with cement.  The seagoing vessel also received two holes as a result of the storm and is in need of repair.

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• Upper Houston Ship Channel Reopened
  Feb 15, 2010

  A four-mile stretch at the opening of the upper Houston Ship Channel reopened this weekend after salvage crews removed a sunken tug from the waterway.

  One crew member was killed when the tug boat J.R. Nichols sank in the channel near the docks of the LyondellBasell refinery in Houston, Texas. The other four members of the boat's crew were rescued by Lyondell employees.

  The heavy-lift crane barge Big John raised the tug, which is now moored near the Lyondell dock.

  Four miles of the Houston Ship Channel were closed after the tug sank near the Sims Bayou Turning Basin last Wednesday evening. 
  
  The one seaman who lost his life in the tug sinking has been identified as 29-year-old Steven Edward Seymore of Pasadena, Texas, according to the Houston Chronicle.
  
  If you or someone you know suffers an injury or is killed while working offshore, please make sure you speak with an experienced maritime lawyer about your legal rights.  Our team of offshore injury lawyers have represented injured seamen and their families in Jones Act, Death on the High Seas Act, Longshore cases, and other related claims for over 45 years.  We are honored to assist the hard-working men and women who suffer injuries on the job.  Email us for legal advice at info@smslegal.com.

   

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• Coast Guard rescues 2 commercial fishermen off California
  Feb 12, 2010

  Coast Guard workers rescued two commercial fishermen after they were forced to abandon ship when it started taking on water near Crescent City, California.  A Coast Guard helicopter and two motor lifeboats raced out to the fishing vessel Flamingo to assist the mariners.
  
  The commercial fishing vessel's crew reported taking on water due to damage from 30-foot waves that had broken through the windows of the pilothouse and reported a fire aboard the vessel.  The Flamingo had a crew of two men on board.  The master and the deckhand both wore survival suits and worked to dewater the vessel.  The master of the vessel put the boat on autopilot and both men jumped off of the stern of the boat toward a rescue swimmer from the Coast Guard who took both men in tow.
  
  The master of the vessel became immediately unresponsive after he jumped into the water and the rescue swimmer placed him in the rescue basket to be hoisted into the helicopter first.  Then the flight mechanic recovered the rescue swimmer and deckhand from the water.  The master remained unresponsive as the crew performed CPR until he was transferred to a waiting ambulance at Crescent City Airport.
  
  The Coast Guard recommends mariners keep vigilant watch on weather conditions as they can rapidly deteriorate in the unpredictable waters of the Northern California and Oregon coastlines.

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