Anatomy of a Marine Casualty Investigation
THOMAS H. BELKNAP, JR. Partner
WILLIAM R. BENNETT III Partner
Blank Rome’ s maritime attorneys have been retained in the wake of many tragic maritime casualties that have resulted in the catastrophic loss of life, significant personal injury, damage to the environment, and loss of property. Examples include: the Staten Island Ferry’ s allision with a maintenance pier; the blow-out and eventual loss of the Deepwater Horizon; the sinking of the El Faro; the collision of the USS John McCain’ s with the M / V Alnic MC in the Singapore Strait; the Mexican Navy’ s tall ship Arm Cuauhtémoc’ s allision with the Brooklyn Bridge; and the M / V Dali’ s allision with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.
Following decades of experience investigating and advising clients after marine casualties, it is a certainty that marine casualties will continue to occur, notwithstanding marked improvements in the implementation of international safety protocols, safety-related advancements in ship design, and an industry-wide focus and dedication to safety. They hopefully will not occur as often as they once did, but they will happen. And when they do, the scope of such casualties is increasingly larger and more complicated.
Obviously, maritime stakeholders should always strive for and celebrate a goal of zero days lost due to accidents. But industry stakeholders also should always be prepared to respond immediately to maritime casualties when they occur, and should know what an investigation around such casualties will entail.
In this regard, it is important to understand the investigative process involved when a significant marine casualty occurs. It is common for the National Transportation Safety Board(“ NTSB”) and the United States Coast Guard(“ USCG”) to coordinate, at least in part, efforts in investigating and seeking to establish the root cause of a marine casualty. NTSB and USCG investigations are similar in many ways, but different in some key areas. And, following the conclusion of their respective investigations, recommendations made by the NTSB and / or USCG, if any, differ notably in scope.
NTSB and USCG investigations are similar in many ways, but different in some key areas.
Owners, operators, and other entities may be expected to assist in the investigation and may be designated as a party-in-interest following a marine casualty. Non-owner / operator entities that could be designated as a party-ininterest include port authorities, pilots, and equipment manufacturers. It is important for the industry to understand the purpose of both NTSB and USCG investigations.
The NTSB The NTSB’ s stated purpose can be found on its website:
The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent Federal agency charged by Congress with investigating every civil aviation accident in the United States and significant accidents in other modes of transportation— railroad, highway, marine and pipeline.
The principal purpose of the NTSB is“ investigating every civil aviation accident.” The NTSB has five board members, each nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate to serve five-year terms. A member is designated by the president as chairman and another as vice chairman for two-year terms. Notwithstanding that investigating marine casualties is not the primary purpose of the NTSB, the NTSB will investigate significant marine accidents. And, in fact, the NTSB has a designated
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