The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating a mechanical failure which caused the Boston Harbor Cruises ship Regency to collide with three other tourist boats belonging to the same company while approaching Long Wharf. A witness to the incident, Rick Natale, stated “It looked like the captain had no control.” Natale told Fox News that the Regency collided with the speed boat Codzilla then became wedged between a whale-watching boat and water taxi. Other witnesses told news outlets that black, thick smoke emanated from the Regency as it tried to reverse.
A Federal appellate circuit court in Atlanta has ruled that a United States crewmember must arbitrate his personal injury claim. This case involved a lead trumpeter who worked for a Miami, Florida based cruise line based aboard a cruise ship whose home port is Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. At the time of the injury, the cruise ship sailed two routes. A Western Caribbean route which called on Haiti, Jamaica and Mexico and an Eastern Caribbean route which called on the United States Virgin Islands, the Bahamas and St. Maarten. No matter which route the cruise ship took, it always began and concluded the voyage in Ft. Lauderdale.
The Federal Eleventh Circuit recently found that a Miami-Dade County canal popular for boating and fishing is not navigable thereby precluding claims based upon Federal admiralty jurisdiction. Since Federal admiralty jurisdiction does not exist, Florida state law, not Federal maritime law applies to boating accidents that occur in many South Florida canals.
Although no fatalities or major injuries were reported, 24 people were hospitalized and many were treated at the scene for heat stroke and dehydration. The Caribbean Fantasy was traveling from Puerto Rico to the Dominican Republic carrying mostly Dominican passengers. Among the passengers were a 22 member cycling team, a girls’ volleyball team and a boys’ baseball team.
