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| U.S. Department of Labor - These are contact numbers for Dept of Labor Offices that maintain regional employment, unemployment, wage information 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 |
| U.S. Department of Labor - These are contact numbers for Dept of Labor Offices that maintain regional employment, unemployment, wage information. 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 - 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 |
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| Back to Life at Sea - the page that brought you here. |
Although we've conquered
many of the sea's traditional
perils, the possibility of an
accident while transiting a lift
bridge is never far from the
minds of mariners. Click
Serious Bridge Accident .
many of the sea's traditional
perils, the possibility of an
accident while transiting a lift
bridge is never far from the
minds of mariners. Click
Serious Bridge Accident .
Perils of Working at Sea When we think of maritime hazards, we tend to think of the classic perils of
the sea such as icebergs, typhoons, storms (accident investigation on the loss of tug Valour), granite
reefs waiting to rip open the bottom of a ship that has lost power.
the sea such as icebergs, typhoons, storms (accident investigation on the loss of tug Valour), granite
reefs waiting to rip open the bottom of a ship that has lost power.
However , with the advent of modern navigation electronics, dependable diesel powerplants,
satellite communications, and radar-based weather prediction, many of those perils seem to have
fallen under the control of the commercial mariner.
satellite communications, and radar-based weather prediction, many of those perils seem to have
fallen under the control of the commercial mariner.
There are still perils that lurk out there for the commercial mariner of the twenty first century. Read
about a criminal prosecution stemming from a recent maritime accident (involving the bulk carrier
Selendang Ayu, pictured at left). An error in judgment that a captain or mate would have made
decades ago, might have been treated as a civil offense that would have brought a money fine upon
the vessel owner. However, it has become a stricter world today. When a commercial mariner makes
a mistake today, it can mean being subject to criminal prosecution. It can mean suspension of a
hard-earned license.
There was an article that appeared in the June 24, 2007 Baltimore Sun titled Justice Capsized,
written by Robert Little. Justice Capsized discussed the US Coast Guard’s administrative court
system. In the article, Mr. Little wrote about how the system is stacked against the mariner. He
provided a statistic that in 6,300 charges filed by Coast Guard investigators since 1999, mariners
have prevailed in only 14 cases. Mr. Little compared this to the administrative law hearings
conducted by the Social Security Administration, which prevails in 43% of its cases. Justice Capsized
refers to Judge Jeffie J. Massey, who in a sworn statement said she was told to always rule in favor
of the Coast Guard and came under intense pressure when she did not. The article demonstrates
that protecting one’s hard-earned Coast Guard license can be a challenging prospect.
Although many professional mariners carry insurance policies for their marine licenses, many do
not. So while the professional mariner of today faces many pressures and stresses such as long
work days, huge responsibilities for the lives of crew members and multi-million dollar vessels,
employment law issues, scheduling complications for watch-standing personnel, it is yet another
large stress to think about answering in court for decisions he or she makes in the course of running
the vessel. And that can be a weighty burden, because as ships pass through narrow channels,
within a stone’s throw of one another, where the inland collision rules get very complex and
numerous rules might apply and seem to overlap, the mariner must also think about how a decision
he or she made under pressure, in a split second, might later be scrutinized in the future… by
people who’ve had the opportunity of examining the situation in full detail, with full 20/20 hindsight.
about a criminal prosecution stemming from a recent maritime accident (involving the bulk carrier
Selendang Ayu, pictured at left). An error in judgment that a captain or mate would have made
decades ago, might have been treated as a civil offense that would have brought a money fine upon
the vessel owner. However, it has become a stricter world today. When a commercial mariner makes
a mistake today, it can mean being subject to criminal prosecution. It can mean suspension of a
hard-earned license.
There was an article that appeared in the June 24, 2007 Baltimore Sun titled Justice Capsized,
written by Robert Little. Justice Capsized discussed the US Coast Guard’s administrative court
system. In the article, Mr. Little wrote about how the system is stacked against the mariner. He
provided a statistic that in 6,300 charges filed by Coast Guard investigators since 1999, mariners
have prevailed in only 14 cases. Mr. Little compared this to the administrative law hearings
conducted by the Social Security Administration, which prevails in 43% of its cases. Justice Capsized
refers to Judge Jeffie J. Massey, who in a sworn statement said she was told to always rule in favor
of the Coast Guard and came under intense pressure when she did not. The article demonstrates
that protecting one’s hard-earned Coast Guard license can be a challenging prospect.
Although many professional mariners carry insurance policies for their marine licenses, many do
not. So while the professional mariner of today faces many pressures and stresses such as long
work days, huge responsibilities for the lives of crew members and multi-million dollar vessels,
employment law issues, scheduling complications for watch-standing personnel, it is yet another
large stress to think about answering in court for decisions he or she makes in the course of running
the vessel. And that can be a weighty burden, because as ships pass through narrow channels,
within a stone’s throw of one another, where the inland collision rules get very complex and
numerous rules might apply and seem to overlap, the mariner must also think about how a decision
he or she made under pressure, in a split second, might later be scrutinized in the future… by
people who’ve had the opportunity of examining the situation in full detail, with full 20/20 hindsight.
Criminal Liability The maritime
industry is a rough place to work.
The maritime professional must
be knowledgeable in so many
areas, from navigation to
seamanship to engineering. He
or she must at times be officer,
scholar, leader, or follower. The
maritime professional also
works in a world that has
become increasingly regulated,
much more so today than two or
three decades ago.
industry is a rough place to work.
The maritime professional must
be knowledgeable in so many
areas, from navigation to
seamanship to engineering. He
or she must at times be officer,
scholar, leader, or follower. The
maritime professional also
works in a world that has
become increasingly regulated,
much more so today than two or
three decades ago.
