Open for Business: Florida Legislature Seeks to Reverse Recent Key West Cruise Ship Ban
March 31st, 2021 — by Blake Tims — Category: Admiralty
Nearly 400 cruise ships and one million passengers visited Key West, Florida in 2018-2019. While the ships and passengers provide economic benefits to the city, residents and local government officials worry about their environmental impacts. On November 3, 2020, residents of Key West voted on three initiatives that would essentially ban large cruise ships from entering ports in Key West.
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) recently announced its intent to withdraw a rule that would have suspended the drift gillnet swordfish fishery in California and Oregon if the fishery were to exceed a limit (or “hard cap”) on deaths and injuries caused to certain turtles and marine mammals over a two-year period. This action is in response to a decision handed down by a federal district court last month.
Many beach renourishment projects rely on sand mined from other beaches and inland dunes. The practice of sand mining, however, is controversial, as it can lead to erosion and other negative habitat impacts at the mined beaches. In February, a federal district court stayed a case challenging a Trump-era rule that would allow sand mining within the Coastal Barrier Resource System (System). The case is on hold for 60 days while the Department of Interior (DOI) reviews the rule.
U.S. Supreme Court Rules on Whether Safe-Berth Clause Establishes Warranty of Safety
March 12th, 2021 — by Blake Tims — Category: Admiralty
In 2004, a 748-foot oil tanker known as the M/T Athos I collided with a nine-ton anchor that had been left on the bed of the Delaware River, causing approximately 264,000 gallons of heavy crude oil to spill into the river. The owner of the vessel, Frescati Shipping (Frescati), and the federal government sought reimbursement of cleanup costs from the sub-charterer, Citgo Asphalt Refining Company and Others (CARCO).
A Closer Look at the High-Level Ocean Panel’s Plan to Protect Marine Environments
March 11th, 2021 — by Sierre Anton — Category: Miscellaneous
Members of the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy (the Ocean Panel), an initiative by 14 nations striving to protect ocean environments, signed onto a pledge in November 2020 to take intensive action to reduce marine environmental degradation over the next ten years. The primary objective of the Ocean Panel’s plan is to commit 100% of the members’ respective ocean waters to be sustainably managed by 2025.
Florida District Court Says Church Can Offer Free Parking for Beachgoers
March 3rd, 2021 — by Betsy Lee Montague — Category: Miscellanous
A Florida federal district court recently ruled that the City of St. Pete Beach (the City) cannot prevent a local church from offering free parking to the public. The City had fined Pass-a-Grille Beach Community Church (the Church) for violating a city ordinance regulating commercial parking lots after the church permitted beachgoers and tourists to utilize its parking lot for free.
