Legal matters of maritime concern in Hawaii, Oceania, and beyond.
The Maritime Administration has issued its notice that a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (warning: this is link to site where the Draft EIS is available, it is 27MB) for harbor improvements to Kahului Harbor is available for review and comment.
Comments on this draft must be received by February 28, 2008.
Today, a California appeals court, invoking the court’s power while sitting in equity, upheld a trial court’s refusal to compel the arbitration of an equitable contribution claim. The arbitration would have taken place, pursuant to the insurance contract, in London. The opinion, in the matter of Crowley Maritime Corp. v. Boston Old Colony Ins. Co.…
The Maritime Administration has announced a grant program to assist shipyards with capital improvement projects.
Applications are due on February 25, 2008.
The GAO issued a report on federal efforts to prevent and respond to terrorist attack on vessels carrying oil and liquified natural gas (or to use the report’s term – energy commodity tankers).
This lengthy report identifies shortcomings in prevention and response plans, entrusted largely to the U.S. Coast Guard. The GAO recommended that the…
Nuclear Threat Initiative’s Global Security Newswire reports that Congress is pressing for outside scientific analysis of radiation detectors slated for use at the nation’s ports, posted here.
Per NTI’s report, "The new detectors, called Advanced Spectroscopic Portal monitors (or ASPs), are designed to not only detect radiation but to identify the nature of its…
The Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) is coming to Maui and Kauai.
Per the schedule, TWIC enrollment starts Janurary 17 at Kahului and January 25 for Kauai.
Star Bulletin editors have stated that the recent ruling, discussed here, has impacts on the RIMPAC exercises off the coast of Hawaii.
The Coast Guard published its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for the security zone for the SBX while it transits in and around Hawaii waters. The deadline for comment is February 6, 2008.
The SBX is permanently deployed to Alaskan waters, but repairs are conducted at Pearl Harbor. As the attached picture shows, it is quite…
A federal court in Los Angeles enjoined the Navy’s unrestricted use of sonar off the coast of California. After finding severe risks of harm to marine mammals in proximity of mid-frequency active sonar, the judge: 1) barred Navy ships from operating these sonars within 12 nautical miles of the coastline; 2) required Navy units to…
In November, I posted the proposed interpretation of Passenger Vessel Services Act which would require a 48 hour stay in a foreign port before ultimately disembarking in a U.S. port. Foreign flagged cruise ships, after leaving Hawaii, would reportedly briefly stop in Ensenada, Mexico before terminating the cruise in California. The text of the rule…
