Are Overweight Shipping Containers Safe?

When cargo is loaded onto a container ship, someone on board is charged with figuring out where each container should be placed on the vessel. Cargo placed on container ships presents a particular problem because each container looks similar, so the person in charge of placement must make decisions based on the documented weight of…

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El Faro Families Seek Closure Through Photos

According to First Coast News, family members of El Faro victims have been allowed to view photos and video taken during the search for the missing vessel. Additionally, it was announced last week that CBS News would air a report on 60 Minutes, going behind the scenes of the El Faro search, showing video from…

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When is the New Deadline for Filing El Faro Lawsuits?

According to the Florida Times-Union, a court ordered lawsuit deadline for family members of the El Faro disaster has been extended to February 19, 2016. Originally, the court ordered a deadline of December 21. However, it found that this date did not give parties enough time to prepare claims. The new deadline was requested by…

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El Faro Families Fight Petition for Limitation of Liability

According to First Coast News, the legal battle between the operators of the El Faro, which sank during Hurricane Joaquin this fall, and family members of its victims is heating up. A court imposed deadline was set in Florida for today for family members to file lawsuits. Sadly, all 33 crewmembers who were aboard the…

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Should the El Faro Search Continue?

According to the Florida Times-Union, since the search for remains of the El Faro container ship was suspended in November, a crewmember’s wife has asked publicly for another one to begin. The newspaper reports that the Jacksonville woman, whose husband is presumed to have died along with the 33 crewmembers, is preoccupied with resuming a…

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El Faro’s Sister Ship Involved in Maritime Incident

According to the Bangor Daily News, the sister ship of the El Faro, which sank near the Bahamas in October during Hurricane Joaquin, drifted for several hours recently after losing power during a voyage. The news outlet reported that the North Star, also owned by TOTE Maritime, lost power on November 24, as it sailed from…

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Were the Families of the 33 El Faro Crewmen Offered a Settlement?

Continuing our coverage of the El Faro disaster, TOTE Maritime has made a settlement offer to the families of the 33 El Faro crewmen lost at sea. According to First Coast News, the settlement would provide each of the families with lost wages plus $500,000 each in compensation. While TOTE Maritime is touting this as…

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Has the Search for El Faro Data Recorder Been Called Off?

According to National Public Radio, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has called off its search for the missing data recorder from the wreckage of the El Faro. The agency said that it used remote operated vehicles with the assistance of the Navy to attempt to find the recorder through the remaining wreckage that has…

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Has a Court Imposed an El Faro Lawsuit Deadline?

According to WTLV-TV, a judge in Jacksonville has ordered family members of victims of the El Faro disaster to file lawsuits by December 21 in order to pursue claims. U.S. District Judge Harvey Schlesinger signed the court order recently preventing family members from filing lawsuits outside of the venue and outside of the deadline against…

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What is Involved in the El Faro Recovery Process?

Over the past couple of weeks, we have been blogging heavily about the El Faro wreck, as it is the worst cargo shipping disaster involving an American-flagged vessel in more than three decades. With this in mind, the Seattle Times recently had a report about the details involved with the El Faro recovery effort that…

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Search for El Faro Data Recorder, Bridge Continues

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board and Navy continued its search last week for pieces of the El Faro cargo ship that went missing during Hurricane Joaquin. Investigators were able to find wreckage of the ship, as a salvage team managed to spot parts of the vessel on the ocean floor at a depth of…

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Navy Tug Apache Continues El Faro Search

According to the Navy Times, the search for the missing cargo ship El Faro continued last week as the Navy sent its fleet ocean tug Apache to help investigators. The Apache left Norfolk, Virginia with undersea search systems onboard designed to find the El Faro, which is believed to have sunk. The vessel went missing…

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Sinking of Cargo Ship El Faro: What Happens Next?

The maritime community has suffered a tremendous loss with the sinking of the El Faro. The families of the crew members are grieving and trying to grasp their devastating loss. Thirty-three crew members of all ages were lost in a horrific tragedy and everyone wants to know why did this happen. Questions range from: Should…

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Why Did Cargo Ship El Faro Sink?

Update to Cargo Ship El Faro Sinking The search for the missing crew members on board the cargo ship El Faro has been suspended as of Wednesday, October 7. However, the National Transportation Safety Board and Coast Guard are still searching for the sunken cargo ship and its voyage data recorder, which could bring to…

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What Are My Legal Rights After a Barge Accident?

As of last week, search and recovery crews were trying to find a missing boater in Florence, Alabama following a barge accident. According to The TimesDaily, a barge struck a pontoon boat with eight people onboard on August 15, less than a mile from the Wilson Dam. An initial investigation determined that the pontoon might…

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Three Injured By Chemical Drums, Rough Seas

Sadly, three vessel crewmembers suffered chemical burns in a February incident while cleaning drums during poor weather off the coast of Oregon. According to Professional Mariner, the incident occurred when the workers of the Almasi were cleaning cargo holds aboard the Cyprus-flagged ship. The news outlet reported that two mariners suffered severe chemical burns, while…

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Could Drones Replace Human Captains on Cargo Ships?

Could Drones Replace Human Captains on Cargo Ships? 75 percent of accidents at sea are caused by human error. A European Union-funded research project called MUNIN is hoping to make the seas a whole lot safer by creating autonomous ships that can sail themselves from port to port using drones. Are Drones Safer than Humans?…

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Another Chemical Spill, This Time Asphalt

Another Chemical Spill, This Time Asphalt Nearly 11,000 gallons of asphalt spilled into the Mystic River, near Everett, MA, earlier this month. The Coast Guard is monitoring the cleanup efforts. Apparently this spill was caused by a hose failure, but luckily there have been no known environmental impacts. The liquid asphalt has solidified around the…

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Crewmember Falls To Death While Ship Is At Anchor

A crewmember on a 19-ton cargo ship was fatally injured as a result of a fall. The crewman had been working in a steel basket attached, high above the deck, to the on-board electric provision crane. The crewmember was said to be painting at the time of his fall, and the crane was not suitable…

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Is the Container Ship You Work on Safe?

You have the right to work in an environment where your safety is a priority. For seamen, container ships> are often their work environment, and while the law requires that these vessels be kept safe for workers, employers do not always make this their priority, including: Failing to follow federal regulations Improperly maintaining or repairing…

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Houston Ship Channel Barge Accident Nearly Ends in Disaster

According to the Houston Chronicle, an accident between a barge and container ship narrowly avoided turning into an environmental disaster. The Houston Business Journal reported that the barge-container ship accident happened on March 14 in the Houston Ship Channel. The crash occurred just north of the Texas City Y, which is the nickname of the…

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