Transportation (Maritime)

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• Representation for bareboat charterers, crew, marine freight forwarders, marine insurers, masters, non-vessel operating common carriers (NVOCCs), P&I clubs, passengers, ship brokers, ship builders, ship charterers, ship financiers, ship outfitters, ship owners, ship pilots, ship salvors, ship suppliers, ship terminals, ship trusts, ship yards, vessel operating common carriers (VOCCs).

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• Negotiating and drafting various agreements, contracts, documents and templates related directly to maritime transportation practice, such as for: barge construction; barge lease; barge maintenance; barge repair; bareboat charter party; bulk shipping; cargo underwriting; charter party; container lease; contract of affreightment (COS); contract of carriage; description and condition of vessel; dredging; dry dock construction; dry dock lease; dry dock maintenance; dry dock repair; ferry transport; liquefied natural gas (LNG) gas sales (LNGSA); LNG transportation (LNGTA); marine waybill terms and conditions; Maritime Administration (MARAD) Build Grant with terms and conditions; navigational services; neo-panamax crane construction; MARAD Voluntary Intermodal Sealift (VISA); neo-panamax crane lease; neo-panamax crane maintenance; neo-panamax crane repair; non-vessel operating common carrier (NVOCC); obstruction clearing; ocean carrier service; ocean freight forwarder; ocean service (OSA); panamax crane construction; panamax crane lease; panamax crane maintenance; panamax crane repair; pier construction; pier lease; pier maintenance; pier repair; port-terminal; preferred ship mortgage; repair and shipyard collaboration; salvage operations; sea waybill; shipyard lease; shipyard vessel construction and repair; terminal construction; terminal maintenance; terminal repair; towage; traveling crane construction; traveling crane (railed gantry or rubber-tired gantry – RTG) construction; traveling crane (RTG) maintenance; traveling crane (RTG) repair; vessel charter; vessel construction; vessel lease; vessel maintenance; vessel operating common carrier (VOCC); vessel repair; vessel purchase and sale; warehouse construction.

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• Compliance with international agreements, codes, conventions, protocols, treaties and other governing documents related to maritime practice, such as the: 1992 Protocol to the International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage (FUND 1992); 1996 Protocol to the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter, 1972 (London Protocol); Athens Convention relating to the Carriage of Passengers and their Luggage by Sea (PAL); Code of Conduct for the Merchant Navy (CCMN Code); Code of Safe Practice for Cargo Stowage and Securing (CSS Code); Code of Safe Practice for the Carriage of Cargoes and Persons by Offshore Supply Vessels (OSV Code); Code of Safe Practice for Ships Carrying Timber Deck Cargoes (TDC Code); Code of Safe Working Practices for Merchant Seafarers (SWPMS Code);Code on Safety for Special Purpose Ships (SPS Code); Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Maritime Navigation (SUA); Convention on Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic (FAL); Convention on the International Maritime Organization (CIMO); Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREG); Convention on the International Maritime Satellite Organization (IMSO C); Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims (LLMC); Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREG); Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter (LC); Convention relating to Civil Liability in the Field of Maritime Carriage of Nuclear Material (NUCLEAR); Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships (HKIC); International Code for Fire Safety Systems (FSS Code); International Code for Fire Test Procedure (FTP Code); International Code for Ships Operating in Polar Waters (Polar Code); International Code for the Construction and Equipment of Ships carrying Dangerous Chemicals in Bulk (IBC Code); International Code for the Safe Carriage of Grain in Bulk (International Grain Code); International Code for the Safe Carriage of Packaged Irradiated Nuclear Fuel, Plutonium and High-Level Radioactive Wastes on board Ships (INF Code); International Code of the Construction and Equipment of Ships Carrying Liquefied Gases in Bulk (IGC Code); International Code of Safety for High-Speed Craft (HSC Code); International Code on Intact Stability (IS Code); International Convention for Safe Containers (CSC); International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments (BWS); International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL); International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS); International Convention on Arrest of Ships (ICAS); International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage BOPD); International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage (CLC); International Convention on Liability and Compensation for Damage in Connection with the Carriage of Hazardous and Noxious Substances by Sea (HNS) (and 2010 Protocol); International Convention on Load Lines (LL); International Convention on Maritime Liens and Mortgages (ICMLM); International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue (SAR); International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation (OPRC); International Convention on Salvage (SALVAGE); International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW); International Convention on the Control of Harmful Anti-fouling Systems on Ships (AFS); International Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships (TONNAGE); International Convention Relating to Intervention on the High Seas in Cases of Oil Pollution Casualties (INTERVENTION); International Life-Saving Appliance (LSA) Code; International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes (IMSBC) Code; International Safety Management (ISM) Code; International Ship and Port Facility Security Code (ISPS Code); Maritime Labour Convention (MLC); Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit Code (MODU Code); Nairobi International Convention on the Removal of Wrecks (NIC); Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Fixed Platforms located on the Continental Shelf (SUAFP); Protocol on Preparedness, Response and Co-operation to pollution Incidents by Hazardous and Noxious Substances (OPRC-HNS Protocol); Protocol on Space Requirements for Special Trade Passenger Ships (PSTP); Special Trade Passenger Ships Agreement (STP); Treaty between the Government of the United Mexican States and the Government of the United States of America on the delimitation of the continental shelf in the western Gulf of Mexico beyond 200 nautical miles (TDCS); Treaty between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the United Mexican States on the Delimitation of the Maritime Boundary in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico (TDMB); Treaty on Maritime Boundaries between the United Mexican States and the United States of America (TMBUMSUS); Treaty to Resolve Pending Boundary Differences and Maintain the Rio Grande and Colorado River as the International Boundary (TRGCR); United Nations (UN) United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea (Rotterdam Rules); UN Convention on Conditions for Registration of Ships (UNCRS); United Nations Convention on International Multimodal Transport of Goods (UNCIMTG); United Nations Convention on the Carriage of Goods by Sea (Hamburg Rules);  UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

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• Compliance with United States and state administrative agencies, departments, frameworks, guidelines, laws, recommendations, regulations, rules, statutes and trade groups, related to maritime transportation practice, such as the: Abandoned Shipwreck Act (ASA); Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS); American Fisheries Act (AFA); American Shipbuilding Association (ASA); BEACH Act (BA); Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS); Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM); Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE); Carriage of Goods by Sea Act (COGSA); Clean Water Act (CWA); Commercial Instruments and Maritime Liens Act (CIMLA); Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA); Death on the High Seas Act (DOHSA); Defense Logistics Agency (DLA); Department of Justice (DOJ); Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); Extension of Admiralty Jurisdiction Act (EAJA); Federal Arbitration Act (FAA); Federal Communications Commission (FCC); Federal Maritime Commission (FMC); Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA); Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA); Fire Statute (FS); Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA); Foreign Shipping Practices Act (FSPA); Harter Act (HA); Limitation of Liability Act (LOLA); Longshoremen’s and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA); Marine Debris Research, Prevention, and Reduction Act (MDRPRA); Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA); Maritime Administration (MARAD); Maritime Lien Act (MLA); Maritime Transportation Security Act (MTSA); Merchant Marine Act (MMA – also known as the Jones Act or the Passenger Services Act); Military Sealift Command (MSC); National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA); National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB); New Jersey Revised Statutes (NJRS) Title 12 – Commerce and Navigation; New York Consolidated Laws, Navigation Law –NAV; Ocean Shipping Reform Act (OSRA); Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC); Oil Pollution Act (OPA); Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA); Passenger Vessel Services Act (PVSA); Pennsylvania Statutes Title 55 P.S. Navigation; Public Vessels Act (PVA); Rivers and Harbors Act (RHA); Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (SLSDC); Ship Mortgage Act (SMA); Shipbuilders Council of America (SCA); Shipping Act (SA); Shore Protection Act (SPA); Society of Maritime Arbitrators (SMA); Submerged Lands Act (SLA); Suits in Admiralty Act (SAA); Transportation Security Administration (TSA); Uniform Foreign-Country Money Judgments Recognition Act (UFCMJRA); Uniform Money-Judgments Recognition Act (UMJRA); US Constitution (USC); US Customs and Border Protection (CBP); US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE); US Coast Guard (USCG); US Department of Defense (DOD); US Department of Homeland Security (DHS); US Department of Transportation (DOT); US Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR); US Department of Labor (DOL); US Navy; US Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM); US Transportation Security Administration (TSA); Vessel Incidental Discharge Act or (VIDA); Webb-Pomerene Act (W-PA – a/k/a Bills of Lading Act).

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• Compliance with the United States Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) and the United States Code (U.S.C.) administrative agencies, frameworks, guidelines, laws, recommendations, regulations, rules and statutes, related to maritime transportation practice, such as the: 33 CFR Parts 101-105 – Maritime Security; 33 CFR 155 – Oil or Hazardous Material Pollution Prevention Regulations for Vessels; 33 CFR 159 – Marine Sanitation Devices; U.S.C. Title 9 – Arbitration; U.S.C. Title 9, Chapter 2 (9 U.S.C.  §§ 201-208) – Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards; U.S.C. Title 9, Chapter 3 (9 U.S.C. §§ 301-307) – Inter-America Convention on International Commercial Arbitration; U.S.C. Title 10 – Armed Forces; 10 U.S.C. § 351 – Arming of American Vessels; 10 U.S.C. §§  451-456 – Maps, Charts & Geodetic Products; 10 U.S.C. §§ 7361-7367 – Salvage Facilities; 10 U.S.C. §§ 7621-623 – Admiralty and Salvage Claims; U.S.C. Title 14 – Coast Guard; 15 U.S.C. § 7001-31 – Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (ESIGN);  18 U.S.C. § 7 – Special Maritime and Territorial Jurisdiction of the United States; U.S.C. Title 28 – Judiciary and Judicial Procedure; 28 U.S.C. § 1292(a)(3) – Interlocutory Appeals in Admiralty Cases; 28 U.S.C. § 1330-68 – United States District Court Jurisdiction; 28 U.S.C. §§ 1602-1611 – Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act; 28 U.S.C. § 1605(b-d) (for enforcement of maritime liens and mortgages); 28 U.S.C. § 1696 – Service in Foreign or International Litigation; 28 U.S.C. § 1781-83 – Transmittal of Letter Rogatory or Request; 28 U.S. C. § 2401 - Time for Commencing Action against the United States; U.S.C Title 33 – Navigation and Navigable waters; U.S.C. Title 46 – Shipping; U.S.C. Title 46 Appendix – Shipping.

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• Management of typical maritime practice tasks, such as: allisions (when a vessel in motion runs into either a stationary vessel or stationary object); arbitrations; bulk cargo spills; cargo damage; cargo loss; cargo shortage; charterparty contracts; contracts of affreightment; collisions (when two vessels in motion run into each other); contracts of carriage; dredging; dry dock usage; environmental pollution; export; first preferred ship’s mortgage foreclosure; fishing rights disputes; general average apportionment; import; insurance; intermodal carriage; Jones Act claims; logistics; Longshore and Harbor Workers Compensation Act (LHWCA) claims; maritime attachments; maritime casualties; maritime financing; maritime liens; maritime pollution incidents; maritime products liability; maritime wrongful death; offshore energy projects (such as: gas; oil; wind); onboard ship investigations; overboard cargo; overboard containers; pilotage; piracy; port development and infrastructure; reinsurance; salvage; stranding; taxation; territorial disputes; towage; vessel construction; vessel documentation; vessel financing; vessel registration; vessel repair; vessel sale; vessel scraping; voyage charter contract; port security; US Coast Guard interfacing.

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• Typical claims under the Jones Act may include: acts by fellow crewmen (such as assault, battery, negligence, tortious acts and the like); being forced to work (whether below deck or on deck) during inclement weather; defective equipment (such as anchor chains, cables, ladders, machinery, ropes, stairs and the like); excessive lifting; excessive work hours; failure to comply with applicable laws; failure to maintain or repair the vessel; harassment; insufficient crew; insufficient medical care; insufficient safety precautions (such as communications equipment, flares, life boats, life jackets and the like); insufficient safety training; lost wages; machinery malfunctions; medical expenses; negligent navigation; psychological rehabilitation; retraining; sexual assault; unsafe cargo loading; unsafe cargo storage; unsafe unloading; unsafe ship operation practices; unsafe working conditions; vessel instability (whether due to cargo-shifting or unrepaired hull damage).

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• Legal support for both law of the sea (international issues; may involve coastal waters jurisdiction, control or ownership of underwater natural resources, navigational rights, treaty violations, and the like) and maritime law (domestic issues involving violations Federal and state laws).

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• Use of the Consolidated Screening List (CSL) to identify parties for which the United States Government maintains restrictions on certain exports, re-exports or transfers of items.

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• Use of the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) commerce control list (CCL).

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• Familiarity with issues regarding the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) required by the Maritime Transportation Security Act (MTSA) and administered by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).  

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• Although a vessel’s flag state (country of registration) certain documents regarding international trade compliance during the voyage from the origin port to the destination port, the fact that the vessel will be operating in international waters, makes it mandatory that the vessel owners comply with all applicable international agreements, codes, conventions, protocols, treaties and other governing documents, at all points during the voyage, regardless of where the vessel owners registered their vessel or where they themselves may be physically located; classification societies are non-governmental agencies in many countries which inspect vessels for compliance with the applicable trade laws, and in many cases have been granted authority from various flag states to issue certificates of compliance to vessel owners if the classification societies determine that a particular vessel does indeed comply with the applicable trade laws; as a result, a vessel may need to carry many certificates (perhaps more than 50) during a voyage, to prove to the various authorities of various countries, that the vessel is in compliance with the applicable trade laws, even if the vessel’s flag state does not require any such compliance; thus, the standard certificates that all vessels should carry on any voyage anywhere in the world may be, at a minimum, the: certificate of classification; certificate of registry; certificates for masters, officers and ratings; international anti-fouling certificate; international load line certificate; international tonnage certificate; maritime labor certificates MARPOL certificates (such as the international air pollution certificate, international energy efficiency certificate; international pollution prevention certificate for the carriage of noxious liquid substances in bulk – a/k/a the NLS Certificate, international oil pollution prevention certificate, international sewage pollution prevention certificate; and, SOLAS certificates (such as the international ship construction certificate, international ship safety equipment certificate, international ship safety radio certificate, international ship security certificate, minimum safe manning certificate, safety management certificate).

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• Legal support for shipment prealerts (a notice sent to buyers/receivers of goods from the seller/shipper, informing them that their expected shipment – the details of which may be specified in the prealert or may be just stated in general terms for bulk shipments – is on its way to them on a specified vessel, and is anticipated to arrive at a specified location on or about an estimated date, generally used for international maritime shipments, and sent by some fast mode of communication such as email or fax and may include certain necessary attachments, such as the: bill of lading (BoL); commercial invoice; material safety data sheet – MSDS; packing list).

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• Interaction with shipping agencies specializing in the provision of any required services to expedite and facilitate the transport of goods by the maritime shipping industry, such as: customs clearance; delivery; freight forwarding activities; insurance; storage; verification of twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) for containerized cargo; warehousing.

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• Legal support for obtaining an ocean transportation intermediary (OTI) license.

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• Legal support for marine communications issues under the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

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• Working knowledge of the basic documents needed to support various international shipping transactions, such as the: air waybill; bill of lading (BoL); certificate of origin; commercial invoice; dock receipt; export license; export packing list; insurance certificate; letter of credit; purchase order; warehouse receipt.

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• Working knowledge of the proper usage of the Incoterms maintained by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), such as: the seven (7) Incoterms applied to all modes of transport – CIP (meaning ”Carriage and Insurance Paid To”) [then insert place of destination]; CPT (meaning “Carriage Paid To”) [then insert place of destination]; DAP (meaning “Delivered at Place”) [then insert place of destination]; DDP (meaning “Delivered Duty Paid”) [then insert place of destination]; DPU (meaning “Delivered at Place Unloaded”) [then insert place of destination]; EXW (meaning “Ex Works”) [then insert place of delivery]; FCA (meaning “Free Carrier”) [then insert place of delivery]; and, the four (4) Incoterms applied to inland waterway and ocean transport – CIF (meaning “Cost Insurance and Freight”) [then insert named port of destination]; CFR (meaning “Cost and Freight”) [then insert named port of destination) FAS (meaning “Free Alongside Ship”) [then insert named port of loading]; FOB (meaning “Free on Board”) [then insert named port of loading].

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• Working knowledge of maritime liens under the Commercial Instruments and Maritime Liens Act (CIMLA), either based on tort claims such as – breach of charterparty; cargo damage; cargo loss; crew wages; general average; maritime torts (including allision, collision, conversion, death, personal injury – PI – pollution); master wages; salvage; unpaid demurrage; unpaid freight charges – or statutorily – such as for an entity which is “providing necessaries” (as defined under the CIMLA) to a vessel on the orders of the owners or for a preferred ship mortgage.

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• Working knowledge of the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) classification system: Class 1: Explosives (such as airbag inflators, ammunition, explosive charges, fireworks, rockets); Class 2: Gases (such as aerosols, natural gas, propane, refrigerant gases); Class 3: Flammable Liquids (such as alcohol, diesel fuel, gasoline, lacquers, varnishes, gasoline); Class 4: Flammable Solids (such as celluloid, matches, metal powders, phosphorous); Class 5: Oxidizing Substances and Organic Peroxides (such as ammonium nitrate fertilizers, chemical oxygen generators, hydrogen peroxide); Class 6: Toxic and Infectious Substances (such as biological specimens, medical waste, mercury compounds); Class 7: Radioactive Substances (such as medical isotopes, radioactive ores, uranium compounds); Class 8: Corrosives (acids, batteries, fire extinguisher charges, formaldehyde); and, Class 9: Miscellaneous Hazardous Goods (such as dry ice, internal combustion engines, life saving devices, magnetized materials).

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• Working knowledge of various specialized maritime insurance coverages, such as: bumbershoot (a specialized form of excess liability targeted to the maritime industry for major wet marine exposures); cargo; cargo policy static extensions; charterer's legal liability; commercial hull; commercial wet marine; free of capture and seizure (FC&S); hijack and ransom; increased values; longshore insurance; maritime employer's liability; marine excess; marine general liability; marine pollution; marine reinsurance; maritime programs; protection and Indemnity (P&I); ocean cargo; ocean marine; ship repairers' legal liability; shipper's liability; spoilage; steamship cyber liability; vessel pollution; war risk; wreck removal.

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    PROGRESS DRAFT - Last updated 210531_2347