Over the past year, a number of new interpretations related to the application of the coastwise laws to the developing offshore wind industry in the United States have clarified how construction and operation of offshore wind...more
Since the enactment of the Jones Act, courts have wrestled to define "seaman" and who is entitled to remedies under the Jones Act. The Jones Act grants a "seaman" a negligence cause of action against his employer and only a...more
As the offshore wind industry is growing in the United States, there is an influx of vessels that are considering operating on the U.S. outer continental shelf (“OCS”), both foreign- and U.S.-flag Jones Act-qualified vessels....more
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) earlier this year for the first time expressly found that the Jones Act applies to transportation of merchandise from a U.S. port to a location on the U.S. outer continental shelf...more
The Biden administration’s approach to policy setting in the offshore wind context can already be seen in recent legislation and executive orders related to tax law, maritime law, and environmental law. We address the...more
In its first offshore wind ruling following amendments to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) under the National Defense Authorization for Fiscal Year 2021 (NDAA), which amended OCSLA to clarify its application to...more
The House of Representatives passed legislation, H.R. 4447, the Expanding Access to Sustainable Energy Act of 2019, on September 24, 2020, that included a provision from Representatives Garamendi and Lowenthal (“Amendment...more
Late last week, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., and Ranking Member Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, issued a joint statement announcing that both chambers of Congress have reached agreement on the...more
The U.S. House of Representatives has introduced legislation that could potentially greatly alter the landscape for oil, gas, and wind installation and decommissioning activities on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (“OCS”)....more
Ballast Water Management: The Conundrum Continues - It has been about 15 months since the U.S. Coast Guard (“USCG”) type-approved the first three ballast water management systems (“BWMSs”) in December 2016; three more...more
In a sweeping move that has been widely and vociferously praised by supporters and passionately decried by opponents, the Customs and Border Patrol Agency (CBP) on the second-to-last day of the Obama administration’s tenure,...more
It has been years (2009) since I last wrote an article discussing the availability of U.S. citizens to work offshore in support of oil and gas projects during a downturn in the economy. And now, it is even worse. With the...more
Action Item: The U.S. Coast Guard released an updated version of the CG-2692 forms for reports of marine casualties, commercial diving casualties, and outer continental shelf-related casualties. Vessel owners and operators...more
The U.S. Coast Guard issued a notice in the Federal Register on March 14, 2016, announcing the availability of, and seeking comments on, the Atlantic Coast Port Access Route Study (ACPARS) Final Report. The ACPARS was...more
In a 106-page Notice of Proposed Rulemaking issued Monday, January 13, 2014, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) has undertaken a wide-ranging overhaul of the standards for fire protection, detection and extinguishment...more