Maritime and Admiralty Law
Foul conditions aboard stranded Carnival cruise ship Triumph
Passengers on the nightmare Carnival cruise ship stranded in the Gulf of Mexico are using patchy cellphone coverage today to reveal that ‘conditions are getting worse by the hour.’
Some of the 4,200 people on board reported that cabin carpets are soaked in urine, passengers are sleeping in tents on deck and scarce food supplies has reduced them to eating cold onion sandwiches.
The ship has been stranded since Sunday after a fire in the engine room crippled the power system.
The first tug boat reached the Carnival Triumph on Monday night and it is being towed to Mobile, Alabama at the rate of a few miles per hour. It is expected to crawl into its destination on Thursday.
Reports say that there are only five working bathrooms for the more than 3,000 passengers on board.
The rest are being asked by the crew aboard the vessel to urinate in cabin showers and defecate in bags.
Those on board were only able to make contact with land via their phones when sister ship, the Carnival Legend pulled up alongside to drop off limited supplies on life rafts.
Holidaymakers have been forced to sleep outside as there is no air conditioning in their sweltering cabins.
Some passengers have no options other than bags or buckets for toilets with reports of ‘raw sewage running down the walls’.
David Raynes, from New Hampshire, is on sister ship the Carnival Legend.
He took a picture of passengers on the Triumph on Monday, lined along the top deck, staring out to sea.
He wrote on Facebook: ‘Our ship shuttled supplies to them, which was not an easy task due to the wind and high waves – it was hard for the boat they were using to get up close to the other cruise ship and then back to ours. They made at least two trips.
‘Another ship, the Conquest, came along to bring more food to them. We could hear announcements from the Triumph, and their guests cheered when they heard the news that a tugboat was just 17 miles away. It arrived before we left. We were there about five hours.
The ship is listing to 4.5 degrees and although not dangerous, the angle of the boat is ‘not normal and would definitely be felt by passengers walking around’, an expert told MailOnline.
A 25-mph south-southeasterly wind has made it too difficult to tow the ship to its original destination of Progreso, Mexico, so the vessel has changed course and is heading north to Alabama.
At least one person has also been transferred off the ship because they are in need of dialysis and can’t wait for the power to come back on.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it has opened an investigation into an engine room fire that crippled a cruise ship carrying more than 4,000 people in the Gulf of Mexico.
The NTSB said in a statement Tuesday that the agency and the U.S. Coast Guard are sending investigators to Mobile.
The NTSB says the Bahamas Maritime Agency will lead the investigation since the ship carries a Bahamian flag.
The Carnival Triumph was left stranded 150 miles off the coast of Mexico after a fire broke out in the engine room.
By Monday afternoon, some of the ship’s power had been restored, but not enough to get the disabled ship moving again.
Although none of the 3,150 passengers and 1,100 crew were injured, the ship was adrift off southern Yucatan peninsula for an entire day before the tugboat arrived.
The engine room fire, which took place on Sunday morning, was quickly contained thanks to the automatic fire extinguishing system and but the ship was left to operate on emergency generator power, Carnival Cruise Lines said in a statement.
This is the latest commercial catastrophe to hit Carnival Cruise Lines, which reported it’s ‘most challenging year’ in the history of the company in 2012.
CRUISE SHIP ACCIDENTS AND INJURIES
When a passenger on a cruise ship is injured, the law that applies to an injury claim will most likely be the General Maritime Law of the United States. At least if the ship is operated by one of the major cruise lines based in the U.S. such as Princess Cruise Lines, Crystal Cruises, Cunard Line, Royal Caribbean, Carnival Cruise Lines and most all of the others you will be familiar with.
Under U.S. Maritime Law, a cruise line can be held liable for damages if it negligently causes injury to a passenger, no matter where in the world the injury occurs. Negligence can involve something dramatic, such as the listing event on the Crown Princess several years ago when a navigational error nearly caused the ship to capsize, injuring hundreds of passengers. Negligence will certainly be a litigated topic for survivors and family members of passengers aboard the Costa Concordia, the Carnival-owned cruise ship that ran aground off the coast of Italy in January 2012.
But usually the negligence is of a more ordinary sort. For example a deck that becomes unusually slippery when wet or a poorly marked tripping or falling hazard. And unfortunately, this sort of negligence is all to common on Cruise Ships.
U.S. Maritime Law protects you on these ships, no matter where in the world the injury occurs. And foreign passengers enjoy the same rights as a U.S. citizens. But there are important limit on your rights as well that you need to be aware of.
Time Limitation
One of the most important of these limitations is that Cruise Lines are allowed to shorten the time you have to make a claim, and limit the place where you can file suit. Almost all the cruise lines require an injured passenger to give them written notice of the claim within 6 months and to file suit within one year of the date of the injury.
Venue Limitation
The second, the passage ticket will limit the place where you can file suit. Most of the major cruise lines specify either Los Angeles or Miami but some lines specify other cities.
The time and place limits on filing suit must be stated in plain language in your passage ticket so you must check your passage ticket to see what limitations apply to you. If you still have questions, and experienced maritime personal injury attorney will know what limitations apply for any of the major cruise lines.
Contact a Cruise Ship Accidents and Injuries Attorney
You have rights under maritime law that can protect you, but you also have obligations you must comply with. Our mission is to help you understand both.
Our attorney’s are available for a no cost, no obligation consultation 24/7. To arrange a consultation, please call us today toll-free at 1-877-465-8711.
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Jet ski collision kills woman on Colorado River
A weekend jet ski collision along the Colorado River killed a 58-year-old Washington state woman, San Bernardino County coroner’s officials say.
Deanna Loy Lewis died at a hospital less than an hour after the 12:40 p.m. accident Saturday, Sept. 22, about a mile south of Jack Smith Park. She was a resident of Mead, Washington.
Lewis and a companion had stopped to wait for other members of their party and were drifting south when Lewis was struck by another personal water craft, knocking her into the river, coroner’s officials said in a written statement.
A doctor aboard a passing boat stopped to help, and Lewis was taken to Colorado River Medical Center where she died at 1:31 p.m.
The sheriff’s Marine Enforcement Unit is investigating the incident.
Boating Accident Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Liability
The most common boating accidents are collisions with other boats, sinking’s, capsizing and boat disappearances.
Boating accidents occur very quickly and in many different places. Lakes, canals, rivers, inter-coastal waterways and oceans are where tragedies normally occur. Last year in California, there were 744 boating accidents involving 439 injuries and 44 fatalities.
According to the United States Coast Guard each year there are more than 8,000 boating accidents in the U.S. that result in 4,000 serious injuries and 800 deaths.
Many times a boater will have been speeding or may have had too much alcohol.
There are specific boating laws that must be followed or fatalities can occur. The Law Offices of Gary A Kessler is familiar with the different state’s boating laws. We know the boating liability issues and will inform you of your true state, local and Federal boating rights and legal options which will result in successful outcome in your case.
It is a general rule of law that the operator of a boat and its owner has a duty to exercise a reasonable degree of care in order to prevent injuries to others. The most common boating accidents are collisions with other boats, sinking and boat disappearance. Boating injuries usually occur because of a reckless or careless operator, alcohol, boat malfunctions or an inexperienced boating (captain) operator.
Operators of boats have a legal obligation to operate their watercraft in a safe and prudent manner. The overwhelming majority of boating accidents are caused by factors that can be controlled by the operator of the boat. The primary cause of boating accidents nationwide was operator inattention, followed by careless/reckless operation, operator inexperience, operating at an unsafe speed, and failure to have a proper lookout.
Common violations of the duty of ordinary care in a maritime setting include a failure to warn against foreseeable harm, violations of “rules of the water,” such as excessive speed, failure to have proper lights, failure to yield, intoxication and others. Owners may also be held liable under the theory of vicarious liability. For example, an owner may be held liable for an operator’s failure to warn passengers of intended maneuvers, overloading the boat or permitting the guest to sit in a dangerous position.
Accidents involving bystanders, such as swimmers or water skiers, are typically treated in the same manner as cases involving social guests. The law and courts where the accident occurred will generally control any lawsuits brought by injured bystanders unless the defendant boat owner asserts admiralty jurisdiction.
The laws regarding boating accident (drowning) cases are complex and include many facets of the law. It is vital to surviving family members to seek the advice of an experienced boating fatality lawyer such as Gary A Kessler at the Law Offices of Gary A Kessler to protect your rights and those of your loved ones.
The wrongful death attorney Gary A Kessler and the Law Offices of Gary A Kessler are compassionate and fully understand that you are attempting to cope with extreme grief and sorrow associated with the loss of a loved one in a tragic boating fatality (drowning) accident. The Law Offices of Gary A Kessler carefully selects its wrongful death/drowning/boating fatality cases so that we may give you (the client) the substantial personal attention neccessary to obtain a successful result for your boating fatality/drowning accident case.
The Law Offices of Gary A Kessler is prepared to front all costs required for a thorough investigation and top expert witnesses to prepare for the trial of your case. As in all wrongful death and serious personal injury cases, we advance all legal costs to prepare and present our client’s claim, and receive for our services only a percentage of what we recover for our atorney fees on their behalf. Upon settlement our costs shall be reimbursed to us from the gross recovery. If there is no recovery, no attorneys fees or costs are owed to our firm.
The Law Offices of Gary A Kessler has the successful track record and reputation for aggressively representing our clients for recovering tens of millions of dollars in boating fatality cases in both State and Federal Counts.
Two people killed in boating accident on Englebright Lake
A collision of a ski boat and another power boat on Englebright Lake about 7 p.m. Saturday has left two people dead and another two transported to the hospital with injuries, according to Yuba County Sheriff’s Department Lt. Damon Gil.
“We are still trying to confirm whether there’s anyone else involved,” he said. “We’re doing a search to confirm the exact number of people who were on each boat.”
Investigators are looking into how the accident occurred on the lake, which is near Smartsville, west of Grass Valley.
Rescuers included the Yuba County Sheriff’s deputies and boat patrol, the Nevada County Sheriff’s Department and dive team as well as the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and the Army Corps of Engineers, Gil said.
Boating Accident Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Liability
The most common boating accidents are collisions with other boats, sinking’s, capsizing and boat disappearances.
Boating accidents occur very quickly and in many different places. Lakes, canals, rivers, inter-coastal waterways and oceans are where tragedies normally occur. Last year in California, there were 744 boating accidents involving 439 injuries and 44 fatalities.
According to the United States Coast Guard each year there are more than 8,000 boating accidents in the U.S. that result in 4,000 serious injuries and 800 deaths.
Many times a boater will have been speeding or may have had too much alcohol.
There are specific boating laws that must be followed or fatalities can occur. The Law Offices of Gary A Kessler is familiar with the different state’s boating laws. We know the boating liability issues and will inform you of your true state, local and Federal boating rights and legal options which will result in successful outcome in your case.
It is a general rule of law that the operator of a boat and its owner has a duty to exercise a reasonable degree of care in order to prevent injuries to others. The most common boating accidents are collisions with other boats, sinking and boat disappearance. Boating injuries usually occur because of a reckless or careless operator, alcohol, boat malfunctions or an inexperienced boating (captain) operator.
Operators of boats have a legal obligation to operate their watercraft in a safe and prudent manner. The overwhelming majority of boating accidents are caused by factors that can be controlled by the operator of the boat. The primary cause of boating accidents nationwide was operator inattention, followed by careless/reckless operation, operator inexperience, operating at an unsafe speed, and failure to have a proper lookout.
Common violations of the duty of ordinary care in a maritime setting include a failure to warn against foreseeable harm, violations of “rules of the water,” such as excessive speed, failure to have proper lights, failure to yield, intoxication and others. Owners may also be held liable under the theory of vicarious liability. For example, an owner may be held liable for an operator’s failure to warn passengers of intended maneuvers, overloading the boat or permitting the guest to sit in a dangerous position.
Accidents involving bystanders, such as swimmers or water skiers, are typically treated in the same manner as cases involving social guests. The law and courts where the accident occurred will generally control any lawsuits brought by injured bystanders unless the defendant boat owner asserts admiralty jurisdiction.
The laws regarding boating accident (drowning) cases are complex and include many facets of the law. It is vital to surviving family members to seek the advice of an experienced boating fatality lawyer such as Gary A Kessler at the Law Offices of Gary A Kessler to protect your rights and those of your loved ones.
The wrongful death attorney Gary A Kessler and the Law Offices of Gary A Kessler are compassionate and fully understand that you are attempting to cope with extreme grief and sorrow associated with the loss of a loved one in a tragic boating fatality (drowning) accident. The Law Offices of Gary A Kessler carefully selects its wrongful death/drowning/boating fatality cases so that we may give you (the client) the substantial personal attention neccessary to obtain a successful result for your boating fatality/drowning accident case.
The Law Offices of Gary A Kessler is prepared to front all costs required for a thorough investigation and top expert witnesses to prepare for the trial of your case. As in all wrongful death and serious personal injury cases, we advance all legal costs to prepare and present our client’s claim, and receive for our services only a percentage of what we recover for our atorney fees on their behalf. Upon settlement our costs shall be reimbursed to us from the gross recovery. If there is no recovery, no attorneys fees or costs are owed to our firm.
The Law Offices of Gary A Kessler has the successful track record and reputation for aggressively representing our clients for recovering tens of millions of dollars in boating fatality cases in both State and Federal Counts.
Cruise line: Crippled ship to reach land Thursday
NAIROBI, Kenya – Helicopters ferried food, phones and flashlights Tuesday to more than 1,000 passengers and crew stuck aboard the disabled Costa Allegra cruise ship that was being towed to the Seychelles Islands through waters prowled by pirates.
Those aboard the Costa Allegra, a sister ship of the cruise liner that capsized off Italy last month, faced more stifling days and nights before the vessel docks in the tropical paradise.
The stricken liner was expected to reach the main Seychelles island of Mahe on Thursday, the Italian cruise operator said.
“The speed of the ship, despite the hot and humid climate, creates a slight breeze that helps make the situation more comfortable,” a company statement said.
It said fresh bread would be brought in Wednesday since cooking was impossible, but added there was “no lack of food and other comfort items.”
Fire erupted Monday in the ship’s generator room, knocking out power to its engines, lights and air conditioning. The blaze came just six weeks after the Costa Concordia hit a reef and capsized off Italy, killing 32 people. Both ships are operated by Costa Crociere SpA, which is owned by Florida-based Carnival Corp.
Cruise officials initially said the stranded travelers would be taken by Wednesday to Desroches, a small, exclusive coral-lined island in the Seychelles. But they changed the destination to the larger island of Mahe, citing safety and logistical reasons.
Two tug boats joined a French fishing vessel to tow the Costa Allegra, which was being escorted by the Seychelles coast guard ship Andromache and an air force plane. The liner was carrying 413 crew members and 636 passengers, including 212 Italians, 31 Britons and eight Americans.
Four passengers were children ages 3 or younger.
No one was injured in Monday’s fire, but the blaze set the cruise liner adrift at sea in a region where Somali pirates prey on ships.
Company officials rushed to play down concerns.
The Costa Allegra is “being pushed by the current. It is stable and upright,” Giorgio Moretti, the director of nautical operations for Costa Crociere SpA, told reporters in a conference call late Monday from company headquarters in Genoa, Italy.
“It’s a big ship and to tow it, to move it across the waters, is a heavy task,” said Seychelles presidential spokeswoman Srdjana Janosevic. She said that all was calm on board the vessel and no one was hurt.
Italian Coast Guard Officials said emergency generators were keeping the ship’s control room illuminated and communications equipment, such as radios, running. The fire disabled its non-emergency phones, so telephones were among the supplies brought in by helicopter Tuesday.
The Allegra, whose Italian name means “merry,” or “happy,” had left northern Madagascar, off Africa’s southeast coast, on Saturday and was cruising toward Port Victoria when the fire erupted. Costa said the Allegra had been due in Port Victoria on Tuesday.
The region where the cruise ship was adrift off the coast of Tanzania has seen a rash of attacks by Somali pirates. In 2009, an Italian cruise ship with 1,500 people aboard fended off a pirate attack in the Indian Ocean far off the coast of Somalia.
Moretti said an armed nine-member Italian military team on anti-pirate duty was aboard the Allegra, but he insisted the maritime region where the ship was “isn’t a high risk area for pirates.”
“If pirates attack, the armed guards on board will respond. But as far as I am aware, no pirates have been sighted in the area,” Janosevic said.
Moretti said 15 Costa engineers, technicians and other officials were flying to Mahe in hope of reaching the Allegra by air to repair its generators.
Admiralty Maritime Law
Although admiralty law covers ship accidents, it does not subsume other laws.
There are usually many other local, federal state and international laws relating specifically to injuries at sea from negligence.
Most sea vessels are actually registered in foreign countries. Many of these vessels unfurl foreign flags. This means the country the ship is registered
in may have laws covering the vessel as well. Many of these laws might be better for the injured passenger than U.S. laws. This is why you need an
experienced cruise ship accident attorney. As an example, a ship that has its port of departure in Los Angeles, California may be covered under the laws
of the state of California, and the laws of the United States. It may also be covered under the laws of the country of the foreign flag the ship flys, as well as international treaties between the U.S. and the other. The Law Offices of Gary A. Kessler have the knowledge to litigate claims from foreign ports of call, and domestic ports of call.
The experienced cruise ship negligence attorneys at the Law Offices of Gary A. Kessler will sue the entities is responsible for your oceanic injuries.
The Offices of Gary A. Kessler are expert in admiralty and maritime law, and can provide you with the legal representation you need to recover damages
for the negligence of an ocean liner, or for boating injuries or other accidents
that occur in the ocean, lakes, or rivers.
Captain of wrecked Italian cruise ship facing manslaughter charges
Divers found the bodies of two elderly men inside a capsized cruiseliner on Sunday, raising to five the death toll after the luxury vessel foundered and dramatically keeled over off Italy’s coast.
Teams were painstakingly checking the interior spaces of the partly submerged Italian liner Costa Concordia for 15 people still unaccounted for after the huge ship, with 4,229 passengers and crew on board, was holed by a rock on Friday night.
The captain of the 114,500-tonne ship, Francesco Schettino, was arrested on charges of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship, Italian police said. Some 64 people were injured in the accident.
Investigators were working through evidence from the equivalent of the “black boxes” carried on aeroplanes, to try to establish the precise sequence of events behind the accident, which occurred in calm seas and shallow waters.
Searching the vast ship for survivors was like combing through a small town – but one tilted on its side, largely in darkness, partly underwater and full of floating debris.
In the early afternoon, scuba divers looking for survivors found the bodies of two men at an evacuation assembly point in the submerged part of the ship, coastguard officials said.
The bodies of two French tourists and a Peruvian crew member were found on Saturday.
The discovery of the bodies on Sunday dampened earlier euphoria when a helicopter lifted off injured chief purser Manrico Gianpetroni, hours after rescuers made voice contact with him deep inside the stricken, multi-storey vessel. Gianpetroni, who had a broken leg, was winched up from the ship on a stretcher and taken to hospital.
“I never lost hope of being saved. It was a 36-hour nightmare,” he told reporters.
Passengers compared the disaster to the sinking of the Titanic, and described people leaping into the sea and fighting over lifejackets in panic when the ship hit a rock and ran aground as they sat down for dinner on Friday night.
The vast hulk of the 290-metre-long ship loomed over the little port of Giglio, a picturesque island in a maritime nature reserve off the Tuscan coast. There was large gash in its side and divers were able to swim into the wreck through the hole.
The specialist diving teams faced a complex task as they worked their way through the warren of cabins on the ship – a floating resort that boasted a huge spa, seven restaurants, bars, cinemas and discotheques.
“Getting inside the ship is really difficult and dangerous,” said Majko Aldone, a one of the specialist team of divers who have been entering cabins through open portholes or by smashing through the glass.
“There are various obstacles, sheets, mattresses, nets which have broken free and are spread out all over the areas we’re searching,” he said.
Paolo Tronca, a local fire department official, said the search would go on “for 24 hours a day as long as we have to” and that rescue workers were using sniffer dogs in the section of the ship above water.
As the search continued, there were demands for explanations of why the vessel had come so close to the shore and bitter complaints about how long it took to evacuate the terrified passengers.
State prosecutor Francesco Verusio said investigations might go beyond the captain.
“We are investigating the possible responsibility of other people for such a dangerous manoeuvre,” he told SkyTG24 television. “Command systems did not function as they should.”
He said the ship had come within 150 metres (yards) of the coast, which he called “incredibly close.”
Agnese Stella, a 72-year-old housewife who has lived on Giglio for 50 years told Reuters: “It came much too close (to shore), it never comes this close normally.”
Magistrates said Schettino abandoned the vessel not long after midnight, well before all the passengers were taken off.
The vessel’s operator, Costa Crociere, a unit of Carnival Corp & Plc CCL.L, the world’s largest cruise company, said the Costa Concordia had been sailing on its regular course when it struck a submerged rock.
In a television interview, Schettino said the rock was not marked on any maritime charts of the area.
After an massive rescue operation throughout the weekend, involving helicopters, ships and lifeboats, many passengers had already left the area and returned home and attention began to turn to the cleanup.
Local officials expressed concern the ship’s fuel, at full load as it had just begun the cruise, could spill into pristine waters off Giglio. So far there was no sign of pollution. Dutch maritime services company SMIT said it had been hired to pump fuel off the ship once the rescue was over.
The coast guard says the removal of the 2,380 tonnes of fuel cannot begin until the rescue is complete because the operation could cause the vessel to move or sink further into the water.
Admiralty Maritime Law and Wrongful Death Liability
Although admiralty law covers ship accidents, it does not subsume other laws.
There are usually many other local, federal state and international laws relating specifically to injuries at sea from negligence.
Most sea vessels are actually registered in foreign countries. Many of these vessels unfurl foreign flags. This means the country the ship is registered
in may have laws covering the vessel as well. Many of these laws might be better for the injured passenger than U.S. laws. This is why you need an
experienced cruise ship accident attorney. As an example, a ship that has its port of departure in Los Angeles, California may be covered under the laws
of the state of California, and the laws of the United States. It may also be covered under the laws of the country of the foreign flag the ship flys, as well as international treaties between the U.S. and the other. The Law Offices of Gary A. Kessler have the knowledge to litigate claims from foreign ports of call, and domestic ports of call.
You may need to bring claims against the U.S. under the Suits in Admiralty Act, or Public Vessels Act. The experienced cruise ship negligence attorneys at the Law Offices of Gary A. Kessler will sue whatever country is responsible for your oceanic injuries.
The Offices of Gary A. Kessler are expert in admiralty and maritime law, and can provide you with the legal representation you need to recover damages
for the negligence of an ocean liner, or for boating injuries or other accidents
that occur in the ocean, lakes, or rivers.
The highly skilled boating accident attorney Gary A Kessler (and the Law Offices of Gary A Kessler) has the experience and track record, handling dozens upon dozens of successful lawsuits against the owners and operators of private boats, personal watercraft, cruise ships and commercial ferries. If you or a loved one suffered an injury or death due to a boating accident or while engaged in water sporting activities, consult experienced personal injury lawyer Gary A Kessler who has handled these types of claims as soon as possible. The laws that apply to injuries that occur on or around the water are extremely complex and must be carefully analyzed to correctly determine the liability issues and the value of your boating fatality case.
Demand accountability from those responsible for the boating accidents. Many times the insurance companies will play “hardball” if you try to settle the case yourself or you have employed a lawyer who does not have the litigation experience to handle such a complex case. We at the Law Offices of Gary A Kessler have twenty years of litigation experience and know how to handle the insurance companies to your advantage. We are prepared to front all costs required for the neccessary investigation and expert witnesses needed to prepare your case for trial.
The laws regarding boating accident (drowning) cases are complex and include many facets of the law. It is vital to surviving family members to seek the advice of an experienced boating fatality lawyer such as Gary A Kessler at the Law Offices of Gary A Kessler to protect your rights and those of your loved ones.
The California wrongful death attorney Gary A Kessler and the Law Offices of Gary A Kessler are compassionate and fully understand that you are attempting to cope with extreme grief and sorrow associated with the loss of a loved one in a tragic boating fatality (drowning) accident. The Law Offices of Gary A Kessler carefully selects its wrongful death/drowning/boating fatality cases so that we may give you (the client) the substantial personal attention neccessary to obtain a successful result for your boating fatality/drowning accident case.
The Law Offices of Gary A Kessler is prepared to front all costs required for a thorough investigation and top expert witnesses to prepare for the trial of your case. As in all wrongful death and serious personal injury cases, we advance all legal costs to prepare and present our client’s claim, and receive for our services only a percentage of what we recover for our atorney fees on their behalf. Upon settlement our costs shall be reimbursed to us from the gross recovery. If there is no recovery, no attorneys fees or costs are owed to our firm.
Thousands evacuated, at least three dead in Italian cruise ship disaster
At least three bodies were recovered from the sea and at least five additional persons were feared dead, and with some 50 people still trapped aboard the badly listing Costa Concordia, said Coast Guard Commander Francesco Paolillo.
Paolillo said it wasn’t immediately known if the dead were passengers or crew, nor were the nationalities of the victims immediately known. It wasn’t clear how they died. The Italian news agency ANSA reported that some people had jumped overboard in the scramble to evacuate the ship, which had just begun a Mediterranean cruise.
The evacuees were taking refuge in schools, hotels, and a church on the tiny Tuscan island of Giglio, a popular vacation isle about 18 miles (25 kilometers) off Italy’s central west coast.
ANSA quoted two Italian journalists who happened to be among the passengers taking the Mediterranean cruise as saying the accident happened during dinner hour.
“We were dining when the lights went out, and suddenly we heard a bang and the dishes fell to the floor,” ANSA quoted one of the journalist-passengers, Luciano Castro, as saying.
“It was like a scene from the Titanic,” another passenger aboard, journalist Mara Parmegiani, told ANSA.
Paolillo said the exact dynamics of the accident were still unclear, but that the first alarm went off about 10:30pm (2130 GMT), about three hours after the Concordia had begun its voyage from the port of Civitavecchia, enroute to its first port of call, Savona, in northwestern Italy.
The coast guard official, speaking from the port captain’s office in the Tuscan port of Livorno, said the vessel “hit an obstacle” – it wasn’t clear if it might have hit a rocky reef in the waters off Giglio – “ripping a gash 50 meters (165 feet) across” on the left side of the ship, and started taking on water.
The cruise liner’s captain, Paolillo said, then tried to steer his ship toward shallow waters, near Giglio’s small port, to make evacuation by lifeboat easier.
But after the ship started listing badly onto its right side, lifeboat evacuation was no longer feasible, Paolillo said.
Five helicopters, from the coast guard, navy and air force, were taking turns airlifting survivors still aboard and ferrying them to safely. A Coast guard member was airlifted aboard the vessel to help people get aboard a small basket so they could be hoisted up to the helicopter, said Capt. Cosimo Nicastro, another Coast Guard official.
A statement from Costa Cruises, the company that runs the ship, confirmed that the evacuation of the 3,200 passengers and 1,000 crew had begun, “but the position of the ship, which is worsening, is making more difficult the last part of the evacuation.”
Costa Cruises’ statement did not mention any casualties, and said it had not yet determined the cause of the problem.
Costa Cruises said the Costa Concordia was sailing on a cruise across the Mediterranean Sea, starting from Civitavecchia with scheduled calls to Savona, Marseille, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Cagliari and Palermo.
It said about 1,000 Italian passengers were onboard, as well as more than 500 Germans, about 160 French and about 1,000 crew members.
Admiralty Maritime Law and Wrongful Death Liability
Although admiralty law covers ship accidents, it does not subsume other laws.
There are usually many other local, federal state and international laws relating specifically to injuries at sea from negligence.
Most sea vessels are actually registered in foreign countries. Many of these vessels unfurl foreign flags. This means the country the ship is registered
in may have laws covering the vessel as well. Many of these laws might be better for the injured passenger than U.S. laws. This is why you need an
experienced cruise ship accident attorney. As an example, a ship that has its port of departure in Los Angeles, California may be covered under the laws
of the state of California, and the laws of the United States. It may also be covered under the laws of the country of the foreign flag the ship flys, as well as international treaties between the U.S. and the other. The Law Offices of Gary A. Kessler have the knowledge to litigate claims from foreign ports of call, and domestic ports of call.
You may need to bring claims against the U.S. under the Suits in Admiralty Act, or Public Vessels Act. The experienced cruise ship negligence attorneys at the Law Offices of Gary A. Kessler will sue whatever country is responsible for your oceanic injuries.
The Offices of Gary A. Kessler are expert in admiralty and maritime law, and can provide you with the legal representation you need to recover damages
for the negligence of an ocean liner, or for boating injuries or other accidents
that occur in the ocean, lakes, or rivers.
The highly skilled boating accident attorney Gary A Kessler (and the Law Offices of Gary A Kessler) has the experience and track record, handling dozens upon dozens of successful lawsuits against the owners and operators of private boats, personal watercraft, cruise ships and commercial ferries. If you or a loved one suffered an injury or death due to a boating accident or while engaged in water sporting activities, consult experienced personal injury lawyer Gary A Kessler who has handled these types of claims as soon as possible. The laws that apply to injuries that occur on or around the water are extremely complex and must be carefully analyzed to correctly determine the liability issues and the value of your boating fatality case.
Demand accountability from those responsible for the boating accidents. Many times the insurance companies will play “hardball” if you try to settle the case yourself or you have employed a lawyer who does not have the litigation experience to handle such a complex case. We at the Law Offices of Gary A Kessler have twenty years of litigation experience and know how to handle the insurance companies to your advantage. We are prepared to front all costs required for the neccessary investigation and expert witnesses needed to prepare your case for trial.
The laws regarding boating accident (drowning) cases are complex and include many facets of the law. It is vital to surviving family members to seek the advice of an experienced boating fatality lawyer such as Gary A Kessler at the Law Offices of Gary A Kessler to protect your rights and those of your loved ones.
The California wrongful death attorney Gary A Kessler and the Law Offices of Gary A Kessler are compassionate and fully understand that you are attempting to cope with extreme grief and sorrow associated with the loss of a loved one in a tragic boating fatality (drowning) accident. The Law Offices of Gary A Kessler carefully selects its wrongful death/drowning/boating fatality cases so that we may give you (the client) the substantial personal attention neccessary to obtain a successful result for your boating fatality/drowning accident case.
The Law Offices of Gary A Kessler is prepared to front all costs required for a thorough investigation and top expert witnesses to prepare for the trial of your case. As in all wrongful death and serious personal injury cases, we advance all legal costs to prepare and present our client’s claim, and receive for our services only a percentage of what we recover for our atorney fees on their behalf. Upon settlement our costs shall be reimbursed to us from the gross recovery. If there is no recovery, no attorneys fees or costs are owed to our firm.
