Man falls 50 feet aboard cruise ship

MIAMI - A man who fell 50 feet aboard a cruise ship Friday morning has been taken back to land and is being treated for injuries at Jackson Memorial Hospital, officials said. The man fell sometime before 5 a.m. aboard the Norwegian Majesty, a cruise traveling from the Florida Keys to Charleston, N.C., according to a report by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue. He fell within the ship and not into the water.

Boaters had better have insurance

Who needs it? You do. Many boaters are on the water without adequate insurance coverage or none at all. In today's world, that's a bad idea. Although few, if any states require boats to be insured like automobiles, it's a good idea if you have anything more than a minimal investment in it. If you have a loan with the boat as collateral, their lender usually will require you to keep the boat insured. However, this may not be sufficient to protect you since they are only interested in getting their money if tragedy strikes.

A UM research ship ran aground on a coral reef last month but never reported the damage. The school now faces potentially heavy penalties and costs.

The University of Miami's marine research ship struck and stuck fast on a shallow reef in Biscayne National Park, then cruised on without reporting the incident. The university and the ship's captain both could face potentially heavy penalties for the grounding, which left the 96-foot F.G. Walton Smith wedged on a patch of coral for about an hour just southeast of Elliott Key last month.

Coast Guard Medevacs Injured Crewman off Vessel Midnight Brave

NEW ORLEANS - The Coast Guard medevaced a 30-year-old man from a vessel approximately 100-miles south of Lake Charles, La., this afternoon. A watchstander at Air Station New Orleans received a call at 9 a.m., from the Eighth District Command Center, reporting that a crewman working on the vessel Midnight Brave had been injured and was requesting a medevac.

Joe Cool Artilce by Vanessa Leggett

In Cold Blog: The REAL Women's Murder Club

This is a very comprehensive and interesting article by Vanessa Leggett on the alleged murders on Joe Cool.

Dwayne Clark

Ship's Crew To Appear Before Grand Jury

The crew of the ship that leaked 58,000 gallons of oil into San Francisco Bay has been ordered to appear before a federal grand jury. The San Francisco Chronicle reports the U.S. attorney's office is convening the grand jury to look into potential criminal violations.

Coast Guard airlifts ill Jacksonville man - George Erwin Safe at Home

44-year-old Jacksonville man who became ill aboard a tugboat off the coast of North Carolina was hoisted from the boat by a Coast Guard helicopter Wednesday and taken to a Myrtle Beach hospital, authorities said. George Erwin was taken from the boat after experiencing swelling caused by diabetes, according to the Coast Guard. The 80-foot tugboat Socrates was in 10-foot seas about 40 miles east of Cape Fear, N.C., when the Coast Guard was called. A helicopter from Air Facility Charleston diverted from a training exercise and a rescue swimmer was dropped onto the boat. Erwin was placed in a hoist basket and lifted from the boat just before 8:30 p.m. Wednesday. He was taken to Grand Strand Regional Medical Center in Myrtle Beach, according to the Coast Guard. Dana Treen

The trawler Gaul: Making bubbles

The trawler Gaul: Making bubbles This is a link to a Trawler Gaul post. We had posted on the vessel and this blog previously. Dwayne

Bourbon Dolphin report inconclusive

A PRELIMINARY report into the capsizing of the anchor handling tug Bourbon Dolphin off Shetland last April says a combination of factors contributed to the tragedy. The Norwegian tug turned turtle during a routing operation, with the loss of eight lives, including the captain’s 14 year old son who was on work experience.

Joe Cool Crew Still Missing - Update Article

MIAMI - Unlike most boats returning from the high seas, the sport fisher Joe Cool had no tales to tell.

Florida Man dies in boating Accident

A Calhoun County man’s body was found Wednesday morning in Lake Wimico after he was thrown from a boat the night before.Robert Brian McLeod, 32, of Kinard, and his brother-in-law, Neil Goodson, were in a 10-foot aluminum boat in the Moccasin Creek area, checking deer stands for the upcoming deer hunting season when they hit an unknown object in the water about 7 p.m. CDT, said Lt. Stan Kirkland with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Murder Charges Filed Against 2 in Joe Cool - Missing Crew Case

MIAMI (AP) -- Federal prosecutors charged two men Wednesday with murdering the captain and three crew members of a charter fishing boat they are accused of trying to hijack after hiring it for a quick trip to the Bahamas. Suspects Kirby Logan Archer, 35, and Guillermo Zarabozo, 19, were rescued from the ocean and are in custody. They could get the death penalty or life in prison if convicted. The charges were built largely on forensic evidence and inconsistencies in statements made by the suspects to investigators about what happened aboard the 47-foot "Joe Cool" fishing boat, said U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta. Prosecutors have no bodies, no murder weapon, no witnesses and no confession, but Acosta said there is still enough evidence to back up the charges. "We shouldn't shy away from a case simply because it isn't an easy one," Acosta said at a news conference. "These four individuals were doing what they loved. They were out on the seas, on a boat, and they were murdered in cold blood." Attorneys for Archer and Zarabozo did not immediately return telephone calls seeking comment. A hearing is scheduled Thursday in federal court for both men.

Coast Guard Commandant Addresses Racial Incidents in the Coast Guard

Tribute held for missing boaters

MIAMI - About 20 people gathered early Saturday behind a waterfront Star Island mansion, set to pay tribute to relatives and friends lost at sea. For this water-bound memorial, there would be no ashes to spread. No one has seen the bodies of husband and wife Jake and Kelley Branam, Scott Gamble or Samuel Kairy since the Joe Cool charter boat was found without them. They are presumed dead in a strange nautical crime.

Passengers Archer and Zarabozo - Under Investigation for Murder

The captain and crew of the Joe Cool appear to have been fatally shot in the cabin of the doomed fishing vessel, a federal prosecutor said Tuesday, confirming for the first time that two men found in a life raft near the abandoned boat are homicide suspects. 'They are presently under investigation for murder,' Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Gilfarb said at a bond hearing for Kirby Archer and Guillermo Zarabozo in Miami federal court, where the two were ordered held without bail. Archer, 35, of Strawberry, Ark., and Zarabozo, 19, of Hialeah, were found Sept. 24 in the Joe Cool 's life raft about 30 miles north of Cuba and 160 miles south of Bimini, where they had paid $4,000 cash to go. The Miami Beach-based Joe Cool was found several miles from the life raft, empty and in disarray.