Admiralty courts adjudicating claims arising from merchant vessel groundings, collisions and allisions are often required to allocate fault for the casualty among three possible parties: the officers and owner of the vessel, the pilot, and the governmental agency providing navigational services such as the Coast Guard, NOAA, or the Corp of Engineers upon which the owners relied. To determine fault, the court must evaluate each party's conduct under the appropriate standard of care.
Coast Guard LT Craig Allen, an active duty student at the University of Washington Law School and editor of its law journal, has published an excellent comment in the Washington Law Review, vol 63, No. 2, pg 371 (April 1988) on the standard of care which should be applied to the mariner in such cases. The comment particularly examines the 1980 grounding of the M/V YPATIA HALCOUSSI in the Columbia River.
It concludes that some courts apply a standard to these mariners in determining liability that is less demanding than the standard established by international and federal regulations for merchant vessel navigation, and fails to promote adequately maritime safety.
This comment is recommended reading, particularly for defense attorneys.
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