E-Navigation and the <i>Deepwater Horizon</i>: Ship Owners' Liability in the Digital Age
Digital Ship USA 2010
Stamford, Connecticut
Alan M. Weigel, partner in Blank Rome's maritime group, will be speaking at the Digital Ship USA 2010 conference on September 23, 2010 from 11:40 a.m. to 12 noon.
Mr. Weigel's presentation, "E-Navigation and the Deepwater Horizon: Ship Owners' Liability in the Digital Age", will focus on the following important issues:
- Limiting a ship owner’s liability for marine accidents that occur without its prior knowledge or control has been an important element of maritime law.
- As a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the U.S. Congress is considering amending the law to allow imposing liability on ship owners without a finding of fault.
- At the same time, new electronic navigation systems are being proposed that would give ship owners the ability to monitor vessels in real time and giving them virtually “continuous” knowledge and control.
- If the Limitation Act is repealed, these new systems will be essential to providing ship owners with the means to improve safety oversight and avoid liability for accidents.
- Even without a change in the law, as these new systems become available, the maritime industry will need procedures to maintain vessels in seaworthy condition that make meaningful use of the wealth of shipboard data these systems will provide.
Digital Ship USA 2010 will be held September 23 and 24 in Stamford, CT, and is the event for maritime IT, satcom, technical, electronics, and navigation managers who want to know about the latest developments in satellite communications, software, and electronic charts technology for shipping with direct reports from the people who use it.