Legal Rights
Although some tugboats may work in sheltered and protected
harbors and rivers, tugboat work involves towing or pushing
barges or strings of barges and presents serious physical
hazards for the uninitiated. There are dangers in the way of falling
overboard, falling in the gap between two barges, injury from steel
cables that are under high tensile loads, working in hot and noisy
machinery spaces, working odd hours in seagoing watch standing
routines. Tugboat jobs are not a cushy lifestyle….the work is
physically and mentally demanding. Tugboats work in the
summer, when the heat is intense…and in the winter…where
bitter cold winds can sting human flesh… and decks and gratings
can become slippery and dangerous from ice.
These can be the articulated tug barge units, where the tug and
barge come close to acting as a single vessel because the tug’s
bow rests in a notch in the stern of the barge. Some of these ATB’s
exceed the size of many conventional coastal tankers and bulk
carriers. Tugboat jobs can entail marine salvage work…or
environmental response. It all depends on where your job hunt
takes you.
The legal rights of tugboat crews in the United States are governed
by a law called the Jones Act. The Jones Act dates back to 1920,
during the administration of President Woodrow Wilson. The
Jones Act lays down the law for the commercial seaman. It
requires that vessels operating between U.S. ports on inland and
intracoastal waterways be built in the U.S., U.S. owned and
registered and be U.S. manned.
The part of the Jones Act that commercial mariners are most
familiar with apply to seamen’s rights in the event of an injury. An
injured seaman under the Jones Act has rights that are generally
different from non-maritime employees. The Jones Act says that
an injured seaman can bring a claim for negligence against an
employer. A commercial mariner injured by negligence aboard a
vessel is entitled to lost wages, medical expenses, pain, suffering
and mental anguish. Maritime law uses the words maintenance
and cure for reimbursement of living expenses and medical
expenses.
The Jones Act is special because it applies to seamen. Who is a
seaman? A seaman…and that means man or woman (the term is
gender neutral)… is a member of the crew of a vessel, or
someone assigned to the vessel. The person’s duties must
contribute to the function of the vessel, and he or she must have a
connection with the vessel in navigation to be considered a
seaman. Additionally, the duration of the employee’s connection
and nature of their activities with the vessel must demonstrate that
they are a member of the crew.
Under the Jones Act, commercial mariners, and that means
mariners of all types… tanker crews, offshore supply vessel crews,
commercial fishermen…enjoy legal rights under the law for
negligence. Maritime employees also have rights that stem from a
vessel being unseaworthy. Unseaworthiness means the vessel
was not reasonably fit for its intended use. Covered injuries
include physical injuries from falls, being struck by objects, or
being exposed to hazardous substances or solvents.
The Jones Act covers injuries resulting from exposure to
hazardous chemicals, such as degreasing solvents and other
toxic substances. Some of these can pose a danger if used in
confined spaces. A seaman can be exposed to hazardous and
harmful chemicals containing benzene and other solvents when
entering confined holds and spaces in chemical barges fro
cleaning or inspection. Although many large companies operate
new and safe vessels, there may still be older vessels in operation
that have asbestos components in the way of asbestos insulation
that had been installed at a time before shipbuilders stopped
using it. When it comes to asbestos hazards (such as asbestosis,
mesothelioma, lung cancer or other respiratory disease from
asbestos exposure), these can be concern on older vessels. In
terms of legal rights, exposure to asbestos, silica, benzene,
toluene, xylene or other such substances fall under the Jones Act
the same way as physical trauma from falling down a ladder.
The Jones Act is only part of the maritime laws that govern the
legal rights of commercial seamen. Depending on their position
and capacity aboard a tug, some crewmembers may need to be
familiar with regulations under the U.S. Coast Guard for reporting
marine incidents, oil spill response, alcohol testing and other
contingencies.
Copyright 2006 - Copyright Warning
Rights reserved - U.S. Copyright Law Carries Criminal & Civil
Penalties for Infringement - 17 U.S.C. § 506 and 18 U.S.C. § 2319
Although some tugboats may work in sheltered and protected
harbors and rivers, tugboat work involves towing or pushing
barges or strings of barges and presents serious physical
hazards for the uninitiated. There are dangers in the way of falling
overboard, falling in the gap between two barges, injury from steel
cables that are under high tensile loads, working in hot and noisy
machinery spaces, working odd hours in seagoing watch standing
routines. Tugboat jobs are not a cushy lifestyle….the work is
physically and mentally demanding. Tugboats work in the
summer, when the heat is intense…and in the winter…where
bitter cold winds can sting human flesh… and decks and gratings
can become slippery and dangerous from ice.
These can be the articulated tug barge units, where the tug and
barge come close to acting as a single vessel because the tug’s
bow rests in a notch in the stern of the barge. Some of these ATB’s
exceed the size of many conventional coastal tankers and bulk
carriers. Tugboat jobs can entail marine salvage work…or
environmental response. It all depends on where your job hunt
takes you.
The legal rights of tugboat crews in the United States are governed
by a law called the Jones Act. The Jones Act dates back to 1920,
during the administration of President Woodrow Wilson. The
Jones Act lays down the law for the commercial seaman. It
requires that vessels operating between U.S. ports on inland and
intracoastal waterways be built in the U.S., U.S. owned and
registered and be U.S. manned.
The part of the Jones Act that commercial mariners are most
familiar with apply to seamen’s rights in the event of an injury. An
injured seaman under the Jones Act has rights that are generally
different from non-maritime employees. The Jones Act says that
an injured seaman can bring a claim for negligence against an
employer. A commercial mariner injured by negligence aboard a
vessel is entitled to lost wages, medical expenses, pain, suffering
and mental anguish. Maritime law uses the words maintenance
and cure for reimbursement of living expenses and medical
expenses.
The Jones Act is special because it applies to seamen. Who is a
seaman? A seaman…and that means man or woman (the term is
gender neutral)… is a member of the crew of a vessel, or
someone assigned to the vessel. The person’s duties must
contribute to the function of the vessel, and he or she must have a
connection with the vessel in navigation to be considered a
seaman. Additionally, the duration of the employee’s connection
and nature of their activities with the vessel must demonstrate that
they are a member of the crew.
Under the Jones Act, commercial mariners, and that means
mariners of all types… tanker crews, offshore supply vessel crews,
commercial fishermen…enjoy legal rights under the law for
negligence. Maritime employees also have rights that stem from a
vessel being unseaworthy. Unseaworthiness means the vessel
was not reasonably fit for its intended use. Covered injuries
include physical injuries from falls, being struck by objects, or
being exposed to hazardous substances or solvents.
The Jones Act covers injuries resulting from exposure to
hazardous chemicals, such as degreasing solvents and other
toxic substances. Some of these can pose a danger if used in
confined spaces. A seaman can be exposed to hazardous and
harmful chemicals containing benzene and other solvents when
entering confined holds and spaces in chemical barges fro
cleaning or inspection. Although many large companies operate
new and safe vessels, there may still be older vessels in operation
that have asbestos components in the way of asbestos insulation
that had been installed at a time before shipbuilders stopped
using it. When it comes to asbestos hazards (such as asbestosis,
mesothelioma, lung cancer or other respiratory disease from
asbestos exposure), these can be concern on older vessels. In
terms of legal rights, exposure to asbestos, silica, benzene,
toluene, xylene or other such substances fall under the Jones Act
the same way as physical trauma from falling down a ladder.
The Jones Act is only part of the maritime laws that govern the
legal rights of commercial seamen. Depending on their position
and capacity aboard a tug, some crewmembers may need to be
familiar with regulations under the U.S. Coast Guard for reporting
marine incidents, oil spill response, alcohol testing and other
contingencies.
Copyright 2006 - Copyright Warning
Rights reserved - U.S. Copyright Law Carries Criminal & Civil
Penalties for Infringement - 17 U.S.C. § 506 and 18 U.S.C. § 2319
| U.S. Department of Labor - These are contact numbers for Dept of Labor Offices that maintain regional employment, unemployment, wage information. ALABAMA - Montgomery, AL - (334) 242-8859 ALASKA - Juneau, AK - (907) 465-4518 ARIZONA - Phoenix, AZ - (602) 542-3871 ARKANSAS - Little Rock, AR - (501) 682-4500 CALIFORNIA - Sacramento, CA - (916) 262-2160 COLORADO - Denver, CO - (303) 318-8898 CONNECTICUT, Wethersfield,CT, (860) 263-6255 DELAWARE - Wilmington, DE - (302) 761-8052 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA - (202) 671-1633 FLORIDA - Tallahassee, FL - (850) 488-1048 GEORGIA - Atlanta, GA - (404) 232-3875 GUAM - Tamuning, GU - (671) 475-7062 HAWAII - Honolulu, HI - (808) 586-8996 IDAHO - Boise, ID - (800) 772-2553 ILLINOIS - Chicago, IL - (312) 793-2316 INDIANA - Indianapolis, IN - (317) 232-7460 IOWA - Des Moines, IA - (515) 281-0255 KANSAS - Topeka, KS - (785) 296-5058 LOUISIANA - Baton Rouge, LA - (225) 342-3141 MAINE - Augusta, ME - (207) 287-2271 MARYLAND - Baltimore, MD - (410) 767-2250 MASSACHUSETTS - Boston, MA - (617) 626-6556 MICHIGAN - Detroit, MI - (313) 456-3090 MINNESOTA - St. Paul, MN - (651) 282-2714 MISSISSIPPI - Jackson, MS - (601) 321-6261 MISSOURI - Jefferson City, MO - (573) 751-3609 |
MONTANA - Helena, MT - (406) 444-2430 NEBRASKA - Lincoln, NE - (402) 471-9964NEVADA - Carson City, NV - (775) 684-0387 NEW HAMPSHIRE - Concord, NH - (603) 228-4123 NEW JERSEY - Trenton, NJ 08625 - (609) 292-0099 NEW MEXICO - Albuquerque, NM - (505) 222-4683 NEW YORK - Albany, NY - (518) 457-6369 NORTH CAROLINA - Raleigh, NC - (919) 733-2936 NORTH DAKOTA - Bismarck, ND - (701) 328-2868 OHIO - Columbus, OH - (614) 752-9494 OKLAHOMA - Oklahoma City, OK - (405) 557-7265 OREGON - Salem, OR - (503) 947-1212 PENNSYLVANIA - Harrisburg, PA - (717) 787-3266 PUERTO RICO Hato Rey, PR - (787) 754-5340 RHODE ISLAND - Cranston, RI - (401) 462-8767 SOUTH CAROLINA - Columbia, SC - (803) 737-2660 SOUTH DAKOTA - Aberdeen, SD - (605) 626-2314 TENNESSEE - Nashville, TN - (615) 741-2284 TEXAS - Austin, TX - (512) 491-4802 UTAH - Salt Lake City, UT - (801) 526-9401 VERMONT - Montpelier, VT - (802) 828-4153 VIRGIN ISLANDS, Charlotte Amalie, VI 340 776-3700 VIRGINIA - Richmond, VA - (804) 786-7496 WASHINGTON - Lacey, WA - (360) 438-4804 WEST VIRGINIA - Charleston, WV - (304) 558-2660 WISCONSIN - Madison, WI - (608) 267-2393 WYOMING - Casper, WY - (307) 473-3807 |
| legal rights of tugboat crews |
| Legal Rights - Jones Act - Maritime Workers - Employment - Legal Rights of Commercial Seamen - Accidents - Injury - Toxic Substances Exposure - Asbestos - Occupational Hazards |
And although some
tugboat jobs may be day
jobs that you board in
morning and leave in the
evening, there are ocean-
going tugs that involve long
employment stints. There
are large 8,000
horsepower ocean going
tugs that go up and down
the nation’s coastline for
weeks at a time.
tugboat jobs may be day
jobs that you board in
morning and leave in the
evening, there are ocean-
going tugs that involve long
employment stints. There
are large 8,000
horsepower ocean going
tugs that go up and down
the nation’s coastline for
weeks at a time.
| Who is a seaman? That's a question that matters to commercial mariners because the designation of someone as a seaman (that's man or woman alike) opens the door to the Jones Act. You can read more about this issue by clicking Jones Act Seaman, which will take you to a well-known case called Chandris v. Latsis. |
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Deck Question
Gyrocompasses repeaters
reproduce the indications of
the master gyrocompass.
They are _____________ .
a. accurate only in the Polar
regions
b. accurate electronic
servomechanisms
c. hand operated
d. accurate only if the vessel
is underway
Gyrocompasses repeaters
reproduce the indications of
the master gyrocompass.
They are _____________ .
a. accurate only in the Polar
regions
b. accurate electronic
servomechanisms
c. hand operated
d. accurate only if the vessel
is underway
Trivia: What is a classification society ? |