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Published Article

Revisiting Coast Guard Deference on Vessel Modifications – Brand New Bag or Same As It Ever Was

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Member Ben Schupp (New Orleans) published an article in the 2024 Q3 edition of Marine Money International, “Revisiting Coast Guard Deference on Vessel Modifications – Brand New Bag or Same As It Ever Was.”

In April of 2024 the Fifth Circuit decision in Curtin shed light on what type of vessel modifications involving foreign made equipment can be done to a coastwise qualified vessel without causing the vessel to be deemed rebuilt foreign and thereby lose its coastwise endorsement. In considering whether incorporating a foreign built crane on a dredging barge violated coastwise laws, the Fifth Circuit in Curtin ruled that the district court properly deferred to the Coast Guard’s determination that there was no such violation and that the Coast Guard’s interpretations of its regulations were reasonable. In June of 2024 the U.S. Supreme Court in Loper Bright cast some doubt on Curtin and similar cases by overruling Chevron deference to agencies’ statutory interpretations.

Read the full article here.

Insights

Alert

Maritime Products Liability Law: Understanding the Fundamentals

August 7, 2024

The United States Supreme Court first recognized products liability, including strict liability, as part of the general maritime law in East River Steamship S.S. Corp. v. Transamerica Delaval, Inc., 476 U.S. 858 (1986). The Court noted that “the general maritime law is an amalgam of traditional common-law rules, modification of those rules, and newly created rules.” Since then, numerous courts, including the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, have embraced Section 402A of the Restatement (Second) of Torts as the best expression of the law of products liability under the general maritime law.

Presentation

Jones Act Compliance Challenges in Offshore Wind

January 18, 2023

Member Benjamin O. Schupp (New Orleans) will co-present a panel on "Jones Act Compliance Challenges in Offshore Wind" during the Tulane Offshore Wind Conference: Overcoming Barriers in the Gulf at the Port of New Orleans on January 18, 2023.