The Information Authority for the Workboat • Offshore • Inland • Coastal Marine Markets

arineMNews NOVEMBER 2017

www.marinelink.com

Volume 28 • Number 11

TheWorkboat

Annual

Special ReportA Primer: Alternative Fuels

Offshore OutlookStaying Positive in a ‘Low’ Energy Market

Making MarinersOn the Menu: Brown or Blue?

Unfortunately, our industry continues to suffer due to the depressed oil prices that started in 2014. When the price of oil initially dropped, the industry’s out-look remained positive, and I remem-ber hearing the mantra: “Stay lean for 2015.” Everyone thought that oil prices would rebound in short order and that we were only weathering a short down-turn. However, the slump continues and the news is fi lled with a continual trickle

of reports of vessel stackings, more layoffs and bankruptcies.As managers, we are focused on vessel utilization, con-

tractual issues and trying to keep the company afl oat. We often fail to consider what our vessel-based crews are thinking as they are hearing the same news and feel that they have no control over the situation.

FAMILIAR DOWNTURN; DIFFERENT PARACHUTE

Human nature has prompted many corporate executives to protect themselves with a “golden parachute.” Your ves-sel crew is no different, except that they don’t have the backing of investment bankers to fi nance a severance pack-age. As such, with your crew believing that a layoff, with-out a quick return to work, may be imminent, we have seen an increasing number of suspect Jones Act personal injury claims where an employee may be attempting to create his own “golden parachute.”

It is important to have a plan for investigating and de-fending these suspect claims to minimize the chance of having to fund this “golden parachute” via a fabricated personal injury claim.

The Jones Act applies to your employees that are work-ing aboard and permanently assigned to your vessels. Un-der the Jones Act, employees are able to sue their employer. However, negligence or the unseaworthiness of the vessel must be proven by the employee in order to make a recov-ery, and damages are determined on a case-by-case basis. As such, early investigations and intervention are the keys

to preparing a good defense to the claim. As a fi nding of negligence or an unseaworthy condition

is critical to a Jones Act claim, the company’s response to the incident is the key to effectively managing the suspect claim and the resulting litigation. Immediately after the accident occurs is the right time to begin an active defense of any claim, especially one that is suspect.

PROMPT ACTION

As the downturn is causing many employee layoffs, it is important to begin working with potential witnesses di-rectly after the accident, while they are still accessible to you. You should take statements from the crew to preserve their description of the alleged event. Statements can be written by the witness or recorded. Under either scenario, take the time to interview the witness and get a fi rm under-standing of what he or she has knowledge about and tailor the statement accordingly. Your goal is a concise statement that clearly spells out the details of the event.

If the crew is small enough, we also recommend taking statements from the crew that was not involved with the incident stating that they do not have any knowledge about what happened. You would be surprised how many former crew members will testify negatively about the company after they are no longer employed, despite having no fi rst-hand involvement or knowledge about the event. Taking statements proving that they do not have any knowledge avoids such a situation.

It is also important to have the crew preserve the docu-ments and equipment that will be relevant to the case. The preservation of vessel logs, billing logs, timesheets, weather reports, communication logs, GPS logs, maintenance logs, and the manuals for any equipment involved with the ac-cident is important. These documents are occasionally lost when a vessel is stacked for a signifi cant amount of time. Also, if the accident damaged equipment aboard the vessel, it is a good idea, if feasible, to preserve the equipment for future inspection and analysis.

Additionally, in the event that the claimant’s attorney has

LEGALCOLUMN

Catching a Jones Act Seaman’s “Golden Parachute” A challenging offshore environment produces a different but equally diffi cult development. Will you be ready when it comes to your fl eet?

By Larry DeMarcay

DeMarcay

November 201724 MN