Page 14: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (September 2005)

14 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News

Hull Design Registration

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the

Eleventh Circuit ruled that a vessel hull design that merely corrects a mistake in an earlier design is not substantial. In the instant case, plaintiff boat company designed and produced a new boat. The vessel hull design was submitted to the

U.S. Copyright Office for registration, but the submittal was made too late after production had started to qualify. The boat was redesigned to correct minor mistakes in the original design. The revised vessel hull design was then sub- mitted for copyright protection and accepted. Two other companies began producing boats the design of which was similar to that of plaintiff's redesigned boat. Plaintiff brought suit. The court held that, for the design of the second vessel hull design to be eligible for reg- istration, the changes from the original design must be substantial. No evidence was submitted to show that the correc- tions of mistakes made in the original design were other than minor. The court cancelled plaintiff's vessel hull design registration. Maverick Boat Company,

Inc. v. American Marine Holdings, Inc.,

No. 04-11259 (11th Cir. - HK Law).

Owner Convicted for Oil

Record Book Violations

The U.S. Attorney for the Southern

District of NY said that the owner and the operator of the M/T Fair Voyager were convicted, following their guilty pleas of six criminal counts. The defen- dants pleaded guilty to one count of con- spiracy, one count of violating the Act to

Prevent Pollution from Ships, two counts of making false statements to federal authorities, and one count of obstruction of justice — all related to dumping of waste oil and sludge on the high seas and making fraudulent entries in the ship's oil record book. The defen- dants also pleaded guilty to one count of falsely reporting to the Coast Guard that the ship had been tested for the presence of explosive gasoline vapors prior to the ship's entry into port. The judge sen- tenced the corporate defendants to pay a fine of $1,050,000 and to donate $450,000 to the National Fish and

Wildlife Foundation. The judge also imposed a four-year term of probation, during which time the defendants will be required to implement an environ- mental management system and compli- ance program under the supervision of a court-appointed monitor.

Crew Employer Not

Entitled to Limit

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the

Eighth Circuit has ruled that the employer of a vessel's crew is not enti- tled to limit its liability for damages caused by the negligence of a crew member. The case involved a towboat which was owned by one company and crewed by the employees of another.

The crewing company was responsible for routine maintenance, but the towboat owner was responsible for other work, including scheduling, insurance, repairs and relations with the Coast Guard.The towboat and its tow came into contact with a bridge on the Mississippi during a period of high water. The barges broke loose and damaged property owned by third parties, who filed claims. The owner filed a complaint in the federal court, seeking limitation of liability, and the crewing company joined in seeking limitation. The court found that the crewing company had not exercised suf- ficient authority over the vessel to meet the statutory requirement to qualify for entitlement to benefit under the

Limitation of Liability Act. (Society of Maritime Arbitrators,

New York, newsletter)

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