Jessie Elizabeth Shifalo

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On October 3, 2024, the U.S. Coast Guard published Change 1 to CVC Policy Letter 23-05 — Guidance on Surveillance Requirements for Certain Commercial Vessels That Do Not Carry Passengers (CVC-PL-23-05-CH01).1 This updated Policy Letter addresses the surveillance equipment characteristics that vessel owners and operators are required to install and maintain under the Safer Seas Act, which became law in December 2022 as part of the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”) for Fiscal Year 2023. …
Continue Reading USCG Updates Guidance on Safer Seas Act Camera Requirements

Maritime law has many unique characteristics that differentiate it from state and federal law.  One of these characteristics is the application of presumptions of fault, causation, and the condition of property, which shifts the burden of proof from one party to the other.
Continue Reading An Introduction to Maritime Law Presumptions

In a much-anticipated decision, the United States Supreme Court held that choice-of-law provisions in marine insurance contracts are presumptively enforceable under federal maritime law with a few narrow exceptions. In Great Lakes Insurance SE v. Raiders Retreat Realty Co., LLC, 601 U.S. ___ (2024), the country’s highest court overturned a Third Circuit Court of…

On December 29, 2023, the USCG issued Maritime Safety Information Bulletin (MSIB) 13-2023, Change 1, an updated version of MSIB 13-23, that now includes a Frequently Asked Questions section addressing compliance with the Safer Seas Act that was passed in December of 2022.
Continue Reading USCG Updates Guidance on Safer Seas Act Compliance, Continuing to Show Strict Interpretation and Enforcement of Its Requirements

On November 13, 2023, the U.S. Coast Guard published Policy Letter 23-05 which provides the first actual guidance for vessel owners and operators on the expectations for the surveillance equipment that they are required to install and maintain under the Safer Seas Act, which became law in December 2022 as part of the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2023. …
Continue Reading USCG Issues First Guidance on Safer Seas Act Camera Requirements