Year in Review: Top 10 Maritime News Events of 2018
2018 was an eventful year in the offshore and maritime industries. Disasters, court decisions, changing regulations and new technology all made the news this year. With so much going on it was difficult to make a decision, but after much ... read more
Why Do Collisions Between Vessels Still Take Place?
On November 8, the Royal Norwegian Navy frigate Helge Ingstad was returning from NATO exercises when it collided with the tanker Sola TS (Malta) in the Hjeltefjord near Bergen, Norway. Fortunately, there were no serious injuries, but the Helge ... read more
15 People Rescued from Lift Boat off Louisiana Coast
A good Samaritan vessel helped the U.S. Coast Guard rescue 15 people from a liftboat that was taking on water early Monday morning off the Louisiana coast. Coast Guard Sector New Orleans received a report at approximately 3:16 a.m. from the Ram ... read more
Cargo Liquefaction May Be to Blame for the Loss of Several Cargo Vessels and Their Crews
The maritime industry is slowly becoming aware of the dangers that granular cargos present to ships and crews. Granular materials like mineral sands and crushed ores generally aren’t toxic, don’t catch fire, don’t explode and ... read more
Thirty Years after Piper Alpha: Could Disaster Strike Again?
July marked the 30th anniversary of the Piper Alpha explosion and fire, the worst oil rig disaster in history. While safety aboard offshore rigs have improved since then, some experts warn that more needs to be done to prevent another tragedy ... read more
A Company with a History of Boat Wrecks in Louisiana Adds Another One to the List
Marquette Transportation does it again — a crane mounted onto Marquette’s towboat Kristine Alexis slammed into the Sunshine Bridge over the Mississippi River in St. James Parish in the early morning hours of October 12. The collision ... read more
Emotional Distress and the Zone of Danger in Maritime Injury Litigation
After a maritime accident, PTSD and other emotional trauma can be just as serious of a health problem as a physical injury. Even a near miss accident — one in which a maritime worker genuinely feared for their life — can result in ... read more
Maritime Workers and PTSD
PTSD is a mental health problem that some people develop after experiencing or witnessing a life-threatening event, like combat, a natural disaster, a car accident, or sexual assault. Many people think of PTSD as something only war veterans ... read more
Marijuana Testing and Maritime Workers
Since the ’80s, many employers in the U.S. have made testing for marijuana and other illegal substances a regular part of their pre-employment screening process for new hires. For employees in security sensitive jobs such as maritime work, ... read more
Coast Guard Searches for Missing Tug Worker in Mississippi River
The Coast Guard is searching for a crewman who fell off a tugboat Thursday morning in the Mississippi River near Donaldsonville, Louisiana. The missing man was described as African American and authorities say he was last seen wearing an orange ... read more
Louisiana’s HauteWork Combines Safety with Style for Offshore Workers
A new company, HauteWork, is proving that flame resistant clothing (FRC) doesn’t have to be fashion resistant. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) now requires that all personnel working in onshore or offshore oil ... read more
Study Sounds the Alarm on Struggle of Maritime Workers with Depression
Maritime work has always been risky. Bodily injuries, hypothermia and drowning are just a few of the dangers maritime workers must deal with. However, physical dangers aren’t the only hazards seamen face. What about their mental health? It ... read more
