Mathews man awarded $6 million in Jones Act injury lawsuit

NEW ORLEANS -- A federal judge awarded nearly $6 million in damages to a Mathews offshore worker who was burned over half of his body by a steaming chemical solution more than two years ago, when a hose burst aboard the ship he was working on in the Gulf of Mexico. Raymond Billiot Jr., a 37-year-old former maintenance technician for Schlumberger Technology Corp., was aboard the Deep Stim II, owned by Galliano-based Offshore Service Vessels, on May 9, 2006, when a rubber-hose fitting melted, dousing him with hot zinc bromide, his lawyer said. The chemical solution is pumped into drilling holes to allow oil to flow more freely.

NTSB CHAIRMAN REMINDS AMERICANS TO KEEP EYES ON SAFETY THIS JULY 4

National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Mark V. Rosenker today reminded all Americans that the upcoming Independence Day Weekend should be a time for celebration with friends and family, not a time to visit the emergency room because someone didn't take prudent and easy precautions when traveling.... -- When engaging in recreational boating, a popular pastime during the summer months, wear a personal flotation device (PFD) and, again, do not operate a boat if you have consumed alcohol.

National Transportation Safety Board Washington, DC 20594 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 2, 2008 SB-08-31

North Florida Shipyards goes to court in Jacksonville Florida

According to the Marine Log, North Florida Shipyards of Jacksonville, Fla., appears to have had a successful day in court. According to papers filed with the Jacksonville Division of the U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida, North Florida Shipyards today brought an in rem action asserting a maritime lien of $1,225,897.76 against the M/V Paladin Shadow II, being the unpaid balance of $4,764,979 of billed ship repair services.

Seaman sues four defendants in Jones Act case

6/30/2008 5:00 PM By Marilyn Tennissen M/V Ms Mary Clint Guidry, a Louisiana resident, was working as a seaman aboard the M/V Ms Mary when he became injured. Guidry filed suit against C&G Boats Inc., C&G Marine Service Inc., MNM Boats Inc. and Freeport-McMoran Energy LLC, alleging the defendants failed to furnish him a safe place to work and a seaworthy vessel. The suit was filed on June 27 in Jefferson County District Court under the Jones Act. The Jones Act is a federal statute that, among other things, allows injured sailors to obtain damages from their employers due to negligence caused by the ship owner, captain or fellow members of the crew.

Alaska Ranger - Fishing company seeks to limit liability

SEATTLE, June 29 (UPI) -- The owners of a fishing boat that sank in the Bering Sea are asking a federal judge to limit the Seattle firm's liability for the accident, court papers show.The Seattle Times reported Sunday 21 personal-injury and two wrongful-death lawsuits have been filed in King County Superior Court over the sinking of the Alaska Ranger. The lawsuits accuse Fishing Co. of Alaska in Seattle, which owned the 189-foot head-and-gut processor, of negligence and operating an unseaworthy vessel.

If the Court finds that the owners of the vessel had privity or knowledge of negligence or unseaworthiness the Court will likely deny limitation.

Dwayne

Looks like the litigation is going strong with lots of plaintiffs and attorneys.

The article says: Some made it into life rafts, but others floated in the dark in survival suits for hours as they awaited rescue. Coast Guard rescuers picked up 20 crew members, and the Ranger's sister ship, the Alaska Warrior, picked up 22. Four of the five bodies were recovered. In a filing in U.S. District Court in Seattle earlier last week, Fishing Company of Alaska (FCA) lawyers asked a federal judge to invoke an archaic piece of maritime law — once called a "vestige of time gone by" by a federal appellate judge — that limits the amount of money that can be sought by survivors or the families of the dead to the value of the Alaska Ranger and its cargo "at the end of voyage." In this case, the voyage ended on the bottom of the Bering Sea, and the boat is worth exactly nothing. The lawsuit asks the court to find that FCA and its owners "are not liable to any extent for any loss or damage or for any claims whatsoever ... [and] liability be limited to zero in damages ... ."

28 year old Winter Garden Florida Woman, Christina Ann Tully, was Killed on Lake Geneva while wakeboarding.

This news report says waves were 2-6 feet as a storm was approaching??

This is an update and Id of the victim. This report puts wave at lower height. Tragic story.

Dwayne

30 Years As a Merchant Marine / Merchant Seaman - Wonderful Story of a Seafarer

This is a good story below:

Dwayne

After serving for over 30 years as a merchant marine, 77 year-old Vernon McLaughlin has led a remarkable life. In addition to interesting accounts of his life at sea, Mr McLaughlin has the privilege of being the first and only non-officer to have received the Admiral of the Ocean Sea - an honour previously given to captains and chief officers.

Safety and risk - And Lawyers?? -Roger Stone's wife Sues Boat Manufacturer for Defects in Boat

IT began as a tale of seamanship, survival and sacrifice. On the night of June 6, the keel separated from the hull of a racing sloop owned by Texas A&M University at Galveston, capsizing the boat. After helping two students escape from the flooded cabin, A&M safety officer Roger Stone drowned. Four students and another safety officer were rescued after floating 26 hours at sea. Now the tale continues. The main characters will be Coast Guard officials, naval architects, insurers and, inevitably, lawyers.

This is an up date story on a lawsuit brought by the family of Roger Stone for alleged defects in the boat:

Man Run Over by Boat

Cameras caught a small boat with no one at the wheel spinning out of control in the waters off Crescent Beach. "That boat's been going for about a good mile,” said one beachgoer. “It's been doing circles.”

Divers plan to enter capsized Philippine ferry

Divers will attempt to get inside the capsized ferry off the coast of the Philippines Tuesday to try to locate hundreds of missing passengers and crew, reports say. About 800 people are still missing after the Sulpico Lines ferry Princess of Stars capsized during Typhoon Fengshen on Saturday. UPDATE: Divers in the central Philippines have found bodies but no survivors inside a ferry that sank during a typhoon with more than 800 people on board. Since the vessel capsized Saturday more than 40 survivors and dozens of bodies have been recovered at sea or on nearby islands, but most passengers and crew remain missing. Douglas Bakshian reports from Manila.

Personal watercrafts rentals on the Gulf Coast

Renting a personal watercraft on vacation but visitors should be aware of the rules rental companies must follow as well as any policies particular to the area. For those below the age of 22, it might be difficult to find a company that will rent to you at all because of the safety hazard.

Death at Sea-What Consumers Of Cruise Lines Need To Know (Part Two)

This is a Injury Board Article by Jane Akre: The Bryce family believes dehydration triggered Don's heart attack and that a visit by the doctor and some IV fluids might have saved his life. Instead he died on the floor of Don and Marlene's Holland America, MS Rotterdam cabin, number 2629. Two minutes later the doctor arrived. (See Previous Story-Part One).

Surrounded by sea, sailors kept afloat with hope

GALVESTON, Texas (AP) — As night slid into day and back into night, and reef fish nibbled at their skin and the Gulf of Mexico roiled around them, the five survivors of the sinking of the Cynthia Woods sailboat kept talking. Steve Conway, a retired Coast Guard commander and one of the sailboat's safety officers, told some of the sea stories he's famous for, careful to avoid "ones that involve utter calamity." Then, he told reporters Monday, he detailed the protocol for Coast Guard rescues, giving the four Texas A&M students floating alongside him in the Gulf a timeline for the help they were certain would eventually come. Those stories, that steadfast belief that they would be rescued and the jokes the five sailors tossed around as they bobbed more than 20 miles offshore kept their spirits and hopes up during 26 hours at sea.

Peer Steenburg - Missing at Sea - Coast Guard calls off search

MIAMI - Coast Guard search and rescue coordinators at Sector Miami suspended search efforts for Peer Steenburg, the master of the 36-foot sailing vessel Holo Ki Ki, Sunday night.Crews from the Coast Guard Cutter Bluefin, two HH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrews from Air Station Miami, a HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Air Station Clearwater deployed in support of Operations Bahamas Turks and Caicos (OPBAT), a C-130 Hercules fixed wing aircraft crew from Air Station Clearwater, an HH-65 helicopter crew from the Royal English Airship Lars Bay and crews from the Bahamas Air Sea Rescue Association exhausted a 628 square mile search area since Steenburg was reported unaccounted for at 9:30 a.m. Sunday.

Jacksonville Florida Boating / Jet Ski collision - Victim George Rosborough identified

Boating accident victim identified Posted: Monday, May 12th, 2008 at 12:16 pm The 19-year-old killed Saturday in a boating accident in Durbin Creek has been identified as George Rosborough of Jacksonville. He was driving a personal watercraft with his girlfriend on board, 18-year-old Kimberly Anaheim, when they collided with a jet boat in a narrow bend near in northern St. Johns County, according to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Anaheim suffered serious injuries and was listed in critical condition. Kyle J. Broberg, 18, and his two passengers in the jet boat were not injured. They were all traveling together, the commission said.