On July 17, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court’s dismissal of a Jones Act seaman’s personal injury suit on forum non conveniens grounds. The decision turned on the enforceability of a forum selection clause in the seaman’s employment contract mandating that litigation take place in England.
Continue Reading Fifth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Jones Act Claims Based on Forum Non Conveniens
On April 17, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld the Coast Guard’s determination that a vessel is considered “built in the United States” for purposes of coastwise endorsement eligibility notwithstanding its incorporation of a foreign-made crane.
Continue Reading Fifth Circuit Upholds Coast Guard Determination that Dredging Barge with Foreign-Made Crane May Operate in the United States
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
The Capital Construction Fund (“CCF”) program is a joint program of the Internal Revenue Service and the United States Maritime Administration which provides federal income tax incentives, mostly through tax deferral, to vessel owners and operators.
Continue Reading State Law Taxation of Capital Construction Funds
The Port of New Orleans has been awarded a $73.8 million federal grant to support the initial construction of its Louisiana International Terminal (LIT) project in St. Bernard Parish. The new terminal, located in Violet, Louisiana, will be able to serve vessels of all sizes by avoiding height restrictions from bridges further up the Mississippi River and taking advantage of the deeper, 50-foot Lower Mississippi River Ship Channel.
Continue Reading Louisiana International Terminal Project Receives Federal Funding Boost
On October 18, 2023, the EPA published a Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“SNPR”) regarding incidental discharges from vessels, proposing national performance standards under the Vessel Incidental Discharge Act (“VIDA”).
Continue Reading EPA’s Proposed Rule on Vessel Incidental Discharges Brings VIDA One Step Closer to Full Implementation
Most American maritime and environmental attorneys and vessel owners are familiar with OPA 90 and oil spill liability in the United States. But what happens when a vessel spills oil in the territorial waters of another country?
Continue Reading Oil Spill Liability: OPA 90 v. the IMO’S CLC