Proctor in Admiralty

Report on Staten Island Ferry accident released

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has posted its marine accident report concerning the allision of the  Staten Island Ferry Andrew J. Barberi with a maintenance pier at the Staten Island Ferry terminal on October 15, 2003.  Fifteen crewmembers and an estimated 1,500 passengers were on board. Ten passengers died in the accident and 70 were injured. An eleventh passenger died 2 months later as a result of injuries sustained in the accident.

The NTSB found that the probable cause of this accident was the assistant captain’s unexplained incapacitation and the failure of the New York City Department of Transportation to implement and oversee safe, effective operating procedures for its ferries. Contributing to the cause of the accident was the failure of the captain to exercise his command responsibility over the vessel by ensuring the safety of its operations.

The Board noted that the Staten Island ferries lacked common technological innovations that are common in use today and that the Global Maritime and Transportation School (GMATS) has recommended that the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) aquire and install such devices,  including: ARPA, AIS and electronic chart display and information systems.

NYCDOT engaged GMATS following the incident.   The NTSB report notes that the NYCDOT was following the GMATS  recommendations and had purchased and installed some of the systems in February, 2005.

Unexplained maritime technology?

From the new maritime industries desk:

Offshore supply vessels used as platforms for parabolic antennae to track satellites or the space shuttle or even for watching the Red Sox (who would waste time doing that?).

Tom Peters' 100 Ways to Succeed

Thanks to Jim Calloway for his post which introduced me to Tom Peters and his 100 Ways to Succeed/Make Money.  The first 50 ways are available on the Tom Peters Blog and on the Change This blog - an interesting blog itself.  I should have recognized Tom's name from In Search of Excellence, but I had to check out his site to make the connection.  I must be living under a rock.

The tips are practical and could and should be used by anyone who gets out of bed and puts their pants on one leg at a time.   Check them out.

Blogging behind the wall

Discussions abound regarding knowledge management and the use of technology to make the information more readily available.  One of my partners recently attended TechShow 2005, and came back talking about blogging behind the firewall, but could not elaborate much on the concept. . . there is a great post from Feedmelegal referencing an article this seems to discuss this concept more fully.  It include this quote which sums up the concept:

"A well-designed blawg can serve as a critical document-management tool for organising and archiving legal information. The very act of trading relevant links and useful ideas electronically, via blog posts and reader response, captures crucial matter-related content automatically, rendering it searchable and browsable. ... the firm acquires a valuable, annotated repository, user-friendly and equally accessible to individual lawyers, internal practice groups ... and organisational departments ... . Not incidentally, both productivity and information exchange increase through better time management and resource allocation."

Imagine creating a blog within particular practice groups, or even across more general areas such as what might affect all litigators or all attorneys in a firm who work on an industry team - if you have such things.  Keeping it behind the firewall, allows for the freeflow of ideas, and the trading of a firm's collective brainpower for the purpose of others within the firm.  If everyone who uses it can post, maintenence is essentially non-existent (very important as it would not be used if it was time consuming to maintain or add a post.)

This could prove to be a more profitable use of blogging within the legal community than as the form of communication with the outside world.

Great site for the jetsetting lawyer

Business 2.0 blog has posted the link to a great website - seatguru.com.  They describe themselves as the "Ultimate source for airplane seating and in-flight information".   Information includes which seats are wider, have more leg room, location of power ports, and the dreaded seat opposite the lavatory!

I am sure that everyone who travels (and maritime lawyers tend to travel a lot) will find this site useful when making reservations and choosing seat assignments.