On Friday, December 6, 2016, at 9:38 p.m., the crew of the F/V Exito contacted the U.S. Coast Guard reporting that they were taking on water 14 miles northeast of Dutch Harbor. Five crew members were aboard when the vessel sank and a nearby vessel, the Afognak Strait, was able…
On November 9, the U.S. Coast Guard received a request for a medevac from F/V BLUE NORTH, a Seattle-based fishing company, when a 41-year-old crew member sustained a neck injury while working on the vessel. Neck and spinal injuries can be serious and can lead to permanent disabilities. Due to…
If you have been injured while working on a vessel, you may wonder if you can get your maintenance rate increased from what is set forth in your employment contact. The short answer is “yes” in many circumstances. For example, what if your employer’s contract set forth a maintenance rate…
The 2016 Alaska salmon harvest is seeing a sharp decline from 2015, but one species is helping to save the summer fishing season. According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, the projected total catch for salmon during the summer of 2016 is 161 million, down 40 percent from…
According to news reports, 46 crew members were forced to abandoned ship when the Fishing Company of Alaska factory trawler F/T ALASKA JURIS began taking on water and sinking off the coast of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands yesterday. The U.S. Coast Guard was notified at 11:30 a.m. that the vessel was…
The 2015 annual recreational boating statistics report was released by the United States Coast Guard, which found the third lowest number of fatality deaths in a year at 626 deaths. While the total number of fatalities represented a slight increase in the rate of deaths per 100,000 registered recreational vessels,…
On May 24, 2016, a federal court in Seattle rejected American Seafoods Company’s attempts to limit the maintenance rate to the $30 per day set forth in the employment contract. American Seafoods took the position that it would not pay our client more than the $30 per day set forth…
On March 12, 2016, a tugboat crashed into a barge on the Hudson River near New York City, leaving two dead and one missing. The tugboat, name Specialist, was 84 feet long and sank near the new Tappan Zee Bridge. The tugboat sank within minutes after it hit a stationary…
Maintenance and cure has been recognized in the United States courts dating back to 1823 when it was determined by the court that seamen by nature of their profession are particularly prone to injury and illness and are often ill-equipped to handle the expense of such. If while in service…
The Alaskan fishing industry is made up of more than 78,000 jobs and is responsible for more than $5.8 billion in revenue each year. However, even after decades of progress for women in other fields, the Alaskan fishing industry remains mostly male dominated. According to the Alaska Department of Labor…