The first moves of the legal disputes over who will pay for the Baltimore Francis Scott Key Bridge disaster, and how much, so far have followed a predictable course. First there was a filing by the shipowner to limit liability to $43.7m under the 1851 US shipping act (restricting liability limits...
An Italian judge on Friday April 19th cleared three migrant sea rescue charities that had been accused of abetting irregular immigration in complicity with human traffickers. The case had been running for seven years. A pre-trial judge in Trapani, Sicily, said there were no grounds to proceed...
Within days of retaining law firms to act on its behalf, the City of Baltimore has filed a claim in U.S. District Court against Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Management, the owner and manager, respectively, of the Dali, the ship that smashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge causing it to collapse.
In a challenge to the limitation of liability petition filed by Grace Ocean and Synergy, the City is seeking a jury trial and asserting, among other things that the strike on the Key Bridge...
https://www.marinelog.com/legal/baltimore-takes-legal-action-against-dali-owner-and-manager/
Belgian frigate BNS Louise-Marie, en route to the Mediterranean to join the Aspide mission in the Red Sea, as part of the Belgian Marine Component, participated in an exercise to test its capabilities to respond to the threat posed by Houthi drones. Unfortunately, according to insider reports, a...
https://insurancemarinenews.com/cargo/marine-round-up-22nd-april-2024/
A former CDL school owner in Philadelphia was sentenced to nearly five years in prison for bribing a CDL exam administrator to pass students who didn’t take the exam.
Vladimir Tsymbalenko, 53, who owned Vlad’s CDL School, was sentenced to four years and nine months in federal prison and three years of supervised release by U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey L. Schmehl. He was also fined $5,000.
“The last thing anyone should want on our roads are people behind the wheel of big rigs or school buses...
The size of monetary penalties for violations under the Canada Shipping Act, 2001 has been increased by a whopping-tenfold: from a maximum of CAD 25,000 to a new maximum of CAD 250,000 (about US$18,000 to US$180,000. The increased maritime penalties were announced by Minister of Transport, Pablo Rodriguez and are structured into three levels: minor, medium, and serious.
Minor violations are administrative in nature and pose no threat to public safety or the environment; medium violations apply...
https://www.marinelog.com/legal/compliance/canada-steeply-increases-the-size-of-maritime-penalties/
Russian crude oil and refined oil products have become trapped at sea on four tankers after the US sancioned the vessels with fresh Iran-related sanctions, reported Reuters, citing LSEG data shown on Friday. On April 4th the US imposed new Iran-related sanctions against a shipping firm Oceanlink...
Group Club Britannia has written to its members stating that, while it does not usually comment publicly on specific cases, it has decied to release a circular to answer a number of questions Members might have arising out of the Dali allision with the Baltmiore Key Bridge on Mach 26th It was...
https://insurancemarinenews.com/insurance-marine-news/britannia-addresses-the-dali-situation/
An unidentified person stole a semitruck and crashed it into a Texas public safety office, critically injuring at least three people Friday morning, a state lawmaker said.
The “horrific tragedy” occurred at a driver’s license office in Brenham, a city nearly halfway between Austin and Houston, said State Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, who represents the area. Three people were airlifted with critical injuries, and three others were taken to local hospitals, she said.
One person was arrested, law...
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office has conducted searches at the offices and homes of officials in Romania as part of its investigations into a bid-rigging scheme. The searches related to the procurement of two tugboats for the Lower Danube Delta, funded in part by the EU at a cost of an...