by Christopher Hannan | Mar 9, 2015
Continuing their post-Macondo/Deepwater Horizon symbiotic approach to regulating the offshore oil industry, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) and Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) issued a joint Safety Alert in late February regarding a loss of station incident on a dynamically positioned (DP) offshore supply vessel (OSV) engaged in downhole operations on a production platform in the Gulf of Mexico. See February 24, 2015 Safety Alert. This Safety Alert, coming just a few months on the heels of the USCG’s recent Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding DP systems on vessels operating on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) (see USCG NPRM of November 28, 2014 Regarding DP Systems, 79 Fed. Reg. 70944, hereinafter “USCG DP Rules”), is the most recent reminder that USCG and BSEE both hold sway on the OCS, sometimes in ways that may not be readily apparent or intuitive. (more…)
by Christopher Hannan | Nov 14, 2014
In a much and long anticipated ruling, the Fifth Circuit in Coffin v. Blessey Marine Services, Inc., No. 13-20144 (5th Cir. Nov. 13, 2014), has held as a matter of law that vessel-based tankermen (specially trained/experienced deckhands who handle the loading/unloading of liquid petro-chemical cargos on tank barges) are seaman, thus exempting them from the overtime pay provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) (29 U.S.C. §§201-219), which exempts from the overtime provisions “any employee employed as a seaman.” 29 U.S.C. § 213(b)(6). (more…)
by Christopher Hannan | Sep 26, 2014
In a much anticipated ruling, the Fifth Circuit en banc has reversed the original panel ruling in Estis v. McBride Well Service, L.L.C., 731 F.3d 505 (5th Cir. 2013), which sent shockwaves through the maritime bar and industry alike when it proclaimed that Jones Act seaman could collect punitive damages for general maritime law claims of unseaworthiness, upsetting years of precedent to the contrary (as previously reported on Striding the Quarterdeck). The en banc reversal has essentially reined in the (as described in Judge Clement’s concurrence) “collective judicial ‘oh, hell, why not’ principle that holds that because punitive damages are available in many other types of actions they should also be available in unseaworthiness cases.” (more…)
by Christopher Hannan | Aug 20, 2014
As previously reported here, the offshore industry has been anxiously awaiting new United States Coast Guard (USCG) regulations for large offshore supply vessels (OSVs) in the wake of the 2010 Coast Guard Authorization Act (CGAA), which removed the prior statutory bar prohibiting US-flagged OSVs over 6,000 gross tons. Four years after the CGAA, the USCG has followed through on its promise this past winter that the long-awaited regulations would be forthcoming, and has issued an interim rule setting forth comprehensive regulations for this new class of US-flagged OSVs. 79 Fed. Reg. 48894. The new, and long overdue, interim rule for large OSVs comes at a critical time on the back of an ongoing OSV construction boom, with OSVs increasing in both size and technical capacity to meet the needs of deeper and deeper offshore exploration projects. (more…)
by Christopher Hannan | Jul 1, 2014
The Fifth Circuit recently reversed, per curiam, a district court decision finding that a contract worker cleaning oiled beaches near Grand Isle, Louisiana, in the wake of the 2010 Macondo oil spill qualified as a longshoreman for purposes of receiving compensation payments under the Longshore Harbor Workers Compensation Act (LHWCA). Global Mgmt. Enters., LLC v. Commerce & Indus. Ins. Co., 13-31249 (5th Cir. June 23, 2014). The Global decision is the second important decision in as many years from the Fifth Circuit (see also New Orleans Depot Servs. Inc. v. Director, Office of Worker’s Compensation Programs, 718 F.3d 384 (5th Cir. 2013)to address the often problematic nuances of the “situs” requirement for LHWCA compensation claims. (more…)
