Maritime

Time to file a lawsuit:  One year from when it happened.  That is the deadline in most cruise line sexual assault and injury cases.  If you don’t file suit within that time and in the court required by the ticket, you will not have a claim. That is the long established maritime law. The coronavirus pandemic has…

Anyone who has been on a cruise has participated in the muster drill in which crewmembers give passengers instructions on what to do in the event of a maritime emergency. These drills are required by law and are conducted in order to help ensure passenger safety. But despite its noble cause, the muster drill is…

Key West residents will soon have the opportunity to decide on significantly reducing the prevalence of cruise ships calling on the tropical island city. Understandably, some residents are concerned that such a prohibition would significantly affect Key West’s economy. But others are eager to see the cruise ships go.  TheMaritimeExecutive.com reports that a set of…

As United States based cruise companies await further developments relating to the coronavirus pandemic to definitively announce their return to cruising, some international cruise companies are taking the lead. Maritime-executive.com reports that several European cruise companies have announced, and even begun, a return to cruising, including Norwegian cruise company Hurtigruten and German cruise company TUI.…

While the poor decisions made by cruise lines to protect their passengers and crew from the deadly coronavirus may have led to widespread illness and death, those seeking a class-action lawsuit against the cruise lines may have an uphill battle toward justice. This is because of the lengthy and convoluted legal jargon on cruise tickets. In…

Judge James Lawrence King denied Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss in Baker v. NCL AMERICA, LLC et al, Case 1:19-cv-24442-JLK. This order is significant because even though Defendants’ Motion asserted various arguments including that (a) Plaintiff’s Complaint is an impermissible shotgun pleading; (b) the Complaint fails to allege specific facts establishing Norwegian’s actual or constructive notice…

The head doctor of the cruise ship Costa Fascinosa died of coronavirus after receiving treatment for the virus in Santos, Brazil.  Maritime-executive.com reports that the deceased doctor was 70-year-old Paolo Mudanò of Genoa, Italy. Mudanò and other Fascinosa crew members have been quarantined off the coast of Santos, Brazil since March 19, as local authorities…

The FBI has arrested a man on suspicion that he severely assaulted a woman while sailing aboard a cruise ship. Arrest of Jeff Smiley III: Special Agent in Charge Douglas A. Leff, of the FBI San Juan Field Office, announced the arrest of Jeff Smiley III for assault of a female passenger on a cruise…

A 57-year-old Pakistani man was killed while working aboard a cruise ship in 2018. An investigation to the man’s death has now concluded that he was killed by a piece of heavy machinery which is used to clean the vessel’s windows. The BBC reports that 57-year-old Arshad Mehmood was working on the MV Azura cruise…

The Viking Sky cruise ship became stranded in the rocky seas off the coast of Norway over the weekend, putting hundreds of passengers and crew members in danger. For days, authorities have been investigating in order to uncover the reason the ship suffered the sudden propulsion problem which caused it to become stranded. Published reports…