11229
From: Captainj, [DNS_Address]
Subject: California Dive Boat Fire to Put Spotlight on Titanic’s Legal Defense
URL: http://gcaptain.com/california-dive-boat-fire-to-put-spotlight-on-titanics-legal-defense/
|
The company that owns a scuba dive boat that caught fire and sank off California, killing 34 people, has sought to avoid liability by invoking a 19th-century law that has shielded vessel owners from costly disasters such as the sinking of the Titanic. Federal investigators have interviewed the only survivors from the fire aboard the Conception, the captain and four crew members, as well as Glen Fritzler, whose Truth Aquatics Inc owns and operates the vessel. Legal experts told Reuters wrongful death lawsuits stemming from the fire are a near certainty. Accidents that occur on land with a similar death toll could lead to more than $100 million in damages, lawyers said. But on the water, maritime law applies, and any lawsuits will run up against the statute invoked late on Thursday by Truth Aquatics, which allows the owner of a vessel and its insurer to escape or severely limit its liability in certain cases. Truth Aquatics filed a petition in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles under the Shipowner’s Limitation of Liability Act of 1851. The law is routinely invoked for an accident on a waterway, whether it involves tugboats and barges in busy harbors or leisure boats at vacation hot spots. Truth Aquatics did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the petition. The law allows the owner of a vessel to petition a federal court to exonerate it from damages, or limit damages to the post- accident value of the ship. Truth Aquatics said in its filing that the Conception was now worthless. “It really is antithetical to most fair-minded people and jurists to allow this old defense to potentially let someone off scot- free,” said Daniel Rose, an attorney with the Kreindler & Kreindler firm, which represents victims in maritime accidents. The 1912 sinking of the Titanic on its maiden voyage, in which more than 1,500 people were killed, is a classic example of the law being successfully employed. The ship’s owner, White Star Lines, was able to limit its liability in lawsuits in the United States to $92,000, which was the value of the lifeboats that survived the accident. The act requires an owner to show its actions did not cause the accident, or as 19th-century maritime law put it, that the owner lacked “privity or knowledge” of the incident. Owners rely on evidence that their ship was properly equipped, the crew well-trained and procedures were being followed. In the case of the Titanic, the ship was state-of-the-art and deemed unsinkable, and White Star Lines played no part in the captain’s navigation into an iceberg. Circumstances have changed with modern communications, increasing the owner’s role in a ship’s operation and decreasing the owner’s ability to limit liability under the act. “These days a master won’t scratch himself without asking the owner’s permission,” said Martin Davies, who teaches admiralty law at Tulane Law School. In the case of the Conception, a judge would look for evidence that showed the owner had “knowledge,” or some involvement in the accident. The captain and four crew were on deck when the flames erupted early Monday morning and were able to escape in an inflatable lifeboat, investigators said. One crew member was sleeping below deck with the passengers. “I think court would look to the competency of the crew, their background, education, what was put on board for firefighting equipment, what training the crew had, what training the passengers had,” said Michael Karcher of Karcher, Canning & Karcher, who also teaches at the University of Miami Law School. Truth Aquatics said in its court filing the fire was not “caused or contributed to by any negligence, fault or knowledge” on the part of Truth Aquatics. Legal experts said owners have to show an accident cannot be linked to something they did or should have done, and owners often try to pin the blame on a crew member. The Truth Aquatics fleet is moored in Santa Barbara, California, and the Conception was on a three-day excursion to the Santa Cruz Islands. Judges have been reluctant to apply the law outside purely maritime accidents, especially in high-profile accidents involving tourists, lawyers said. “The courts are generally not in favor of it,” said Karcher. “It’s a fairly high threshold.” The act was invoked in last year’s duck boat accident near Branson, Missouri, which killed 17 people. Even though the judge has yet to rule on the petition to limit liability, many of the victims’ claims have settled. Kreindler attorney Rose said it was not unusual for an owner to try to strike settlements in headline-grabbing cases. “In a case with egregious facts you don’t want to push too far because they risk raising the ire of the public and people in Congress who maybe take a look at the law anew,” Rose said. |
11251
From: Captainj, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Salvors Raise Conception Dive Boat from Ocean Floor
URL: http://gcaptain.com/salvors-raise-conception-dive-boat-from-ocean-floor/
|
A dive boat that caught fire and sank off the California coast, killing 34 people, was raised from the ocean floor on Thursday as federal safety officials said the crew had no night watchman on duty, as required, when the flames erupted. Television images showed the blackened, burned out hulk of the 75-foot (23-meter) Conception as it was hoisted to the surface near Santa Cruz Island, to be loaded onto a barge and taken to an undisclosed location as part of a federal investigation into the accident. The ship burst into flames at about 3:15 a.m. on Labor Day, killing 33 passengers and a crew member who had been sleeping below decks. Santa Barbara county officials say the victims were all believed to have died of smoke inhalation. The final body was recovered on Wednesday and Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said on Thursday that all 34 victims had been identified. The Conception’s six crew members were asleep, five in berths behind the wheelhouse and the sixth in the below- decks bunk room, when the blaze broke out, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a preliminary report into the incident. Previously, a U.S. Coast Guard captain said the boat was required by its safety certificate to assign such a night watchman or “rover.” CRIMINAL PROBE The five surviving crew members have told investigators that by the time they became aware of the flames it was too late to save passengers and the sixth crew member, 26-year-old Alexandra Kurtz. Federal authorities conducting a criminal investigation have searched offices and two other ships belonging to the owner of the Conception, Santa Barbara-based Truth Aquatics. Investigators have not yet determined the cause of the conflagration, one of California’s worst maritime disasters, the NTSB report said, adding the crew was not aware of any mechanical or electrical issues with the vessel. The Coast Guard on Wednesday urged boat owners and captains in a safety bulletin to consider limiting use of lithium- ion batteries and chargers on board and to review escape routes and crew training. The document suggests investigators are looking into the possibility that the fire was ignited by lithium devices or chargers in sleeping quarters and that passengers could not escape once flames were raging in the dark, cramped space. |
Responses:
[11253]
11253
From: Eve, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Salvors Raise Conception Dive Boat from Ocean Floor
|
Appreciate the articles you have posted on this topic Captainj. |
Responses:
None
11250
From: Captainj, [DNS_Address]
Subject: NTSB Releases Preliminary Report into Conception Boat Fire
URL: http://gcaptain.com/ntsb-releases-preliminary-report-into-conception-boat-fire/
|
The National Transportation Safety Board has released a preliminary report into the Conception dive boat fire, revealing that all six crew members were asleep when the fire broke out early on Labor Day as 33 passengers were asleep in the bunkroom of the vessel. The Conception caught fire and sank on September 2, 2019, just off Santa Cruz Island in California, resulting in the deaths of 33 passengers and one crew member. Five crew members including the Captain, who were asleep in their bunks behind the Conception’s wheelhouse, were the only survivors in the accident. According to the NTSB preliminary investigation report, the crew was alerted to the fire when a crew member was awakened by a noise to notice a fire at the aft of the sun deck. The crew attempted to reach the passengers below, but the fire had already engulfed the lower decks and they abandoned ship. Two crew members and the captain returned to the Conception from the stern, confirming no fire in the engine room, but their access to the salon through the aft doors was blocked by fire, the NTSB said. The report added that initial interviews with three crew members revealed that no mechanical or electrical issues were reported. The accident occurred on the final day of a 3-day dive excursion to Southern California’s Channel Islands. The Conception was owned and operated by Truth Aquatics, Inc., based in Santa Barbara, California. The NTSB has been appointed as the lead investigator for the safety investigation. The U.S. Coast Guard has also declared the accident a major marine casualty and has convened a formal Marine Board of Investigation to investigate. The NTSB’s full preliminary report (Preliminary Marine Report: DCA19MM047) is published in full below and can also be accessed here: On Monday, September 2, 2019, about 3:14 a.m. Pacific daylight time, US Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles/Long Beach received a distress call from the 75-foot commercial diving vessel Conception, with 39 persons on board. The Conception was owned and operated by Truth Aquatics, Inc., based in Santa Barbara, California. The Conception was classified by the Coast Guard as a small passenger vessel that took passengers on dive excursions in the waters around the Channel Islands off the coast of Santa Barbara. The accident voyage was a three-day diving trip to the Channel Islands. On the last night of the voyage, the vessel was anchored in Platts Harbor off Santa Cruz Island, 21.5 nautical miles south- southwest of Santa Barbara, when it caught fire. Weather conditions were reported as slight to no winds with patchy fog, 2–3-foot seas, and air and water temperature about 65°F. The Conception was carrying 39 persons, 6 of which were crew. Thirty-three passengers and one crewmember died. The wood and fiberglass vessel was built in 1981. The vessel had three levels: the uppermost sun deck, containing the wheelhouse and crew rooms; the main deck, which included the salon and galley; and the lower deck within the hull, which housed the passenger berthing (bunkroom) and shower room, as well as the engine room and tanks. Initial interviews of three crewmembers revealed that no mechanical or electrical issues were reported. At the time of the fire, five crewmembers were asleep in berths behind the wheelhouse, and one crewmember was asleep in the bunkroom, which was accessed from the salon down a ladderwell in the forward, starboard corner of the compartment. The bunkroom had an emergency escape hatch located on the aft end, which also exited to the salon. There were two, locally-sounding smoke detectors in the overhead of the bunkroom. A crewmember sleeping in the wheelhouse berths was awakened by a noise and got up to investigate. He saw a fire at the aft end of the sun deck, rising up from the salon compartment below. The crewmember alerted the crew behind the wheelhouse. As crewmembers awoke, the captain radioed a distress message to the Coast Guard. The crewmembers attempted to access the salon and passengers below. Unable to use the aft ladder, which was on fire, the crewmembers jumped down to the main deck (one crewmember broke his leg in the process) and tried to access the salon and galley compartment, which was fully engulfed by fire at the aft end and by thick smoke in the forward end, through a forward window. Unable to open the window and overwhelmed by smoke, the crew jumped overboard. Two crewmembers and the captain swam to the stern, reboarded the vessel, opened the hatch to the engine room, and saw no fire. Access to the salon through the aft doors was blocked by fire, so they launched a small skiff and picked up the remaining two crewmembers in the water. They transferred to a recreational vessel anchored nearby (Grape Escape) where the captain continued to radio for help, while two crewmembers returned to the Conception to search for survivors around the burning hull. Local Coast Guard and fire departments arrived on scene to extinguish the fire and conduct search and rescue. The vessel burned to the waterline by morning and subsequently sank in about 60 feet of water. Later that day, the Coast Guard declared the accident a major marine casualty. The NTSB was named as the lead federal agency for the safety investigation and launched a full team to Santa Barbara, arriving on scene the following morning. The Coast Guard, Truth Aquatics, Inc., Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, and Santa Barbara County Fire Department were named as parties to the NTSB investigation. Investigators have collected documents from recent Coast Guard inspections and visited another Truth Aquatics vessel, Vision, a vessel similar to the Conception. Salvage operations to bring the wreckage to the surface for examination and documentation have begun. Investigators plan to examine current regulations regarding vessels of this type, year of build, and operation; early-warning and smoke-detection and alarm systems; evacuation routes; training; and current company policies and procedures. Efforts continue to determine the source of the fire. |
Responses:
[11254]
11254
From: chatillion, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: NTSB Releases Preliminary Report into Conception Boat Fire
| Unnecessary tragedy. |
Responses:
None
11237
From: chatillion, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: California Dive Boat Fire to Put Spotlight on Titanic’s Legal...
| Now that's verry interesting!!! |
Responses:
None
11230
From: Eve, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: California Dive Boat Fire to Put Spotlight on Titanic’s Legal...
|
wow I do wonder. |
Responses:
None