Media Mention

Maritime partners Charlie Papavizas and Bryant Gardner, based in Winston & Strawn's Washington, D.C. office, were referenced in The National Law Journal's July 26 article titled "Maritime Law is All at Sea: Gulf oil spill disaster casts doubt upon centuries-old legal principles."

The article discusses the complicated, and at times arcane, statutes that encompass maritime law. As a result of the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, maritime law has been brought to the forefront and lawmakers are evaluating the existing laws, which bear little resemblance to domestic law.

The National Law Journal states that, according to the Pew Environmental Group, a nonprofit organization that lobbies for conservation, more than 80 spill-related bills have been introduced by federal lawmakers. These fights and issues, which, as Mr. Papavizas states, have been going on for decades, will likely lead to serious changes, both good and bad, before the midterm elections.

Mr. Gardner's recent paper, slated for publication in Benedict's Maritime Bulletin, states that at least eight of these spill-related bills involve the Oil Pollution Act of 1990. The proposed legislation will raise or abolish the existing $75 million liability cap for owners of offshore facilities responsible for oil spills. At least four of the bills would increase the availability of damages for people injured or killed at sea.

Many politicians and lawmakers are striving to alter the Death on the High Seas Act and the Jones Act, passed in 1920, which restrict damages that injured seamen or the survivors of those killed at sea many collect from vessel owners. Although the expansion of damages available to those injured or killed at sea would more closely align maritime law with tort law, others fear that insurance premiums will increase, which would affect the price of shipped goods and cause the U.S. shipping industry to be less competitive with its counterparts.

Although it is still unclear how Congress will react, a multitude of maritime law bills have been introduced.