The Advocate
Informing Marine Engineers about legal matters
Darren Williams is a Barrister and Solicitor (Lawyer) specializing in
Admiralty Law, which has jurisdiction over most maritime matters. Darren has
worked extensively on the water as well as in the courtroom. He is based out of
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, practicing at the Law Firm of "League
& Williams".
On this webpage, he brings us timely and relevant articles on
the legal aspects of being a Marine Engineer in today's world. Although the
articles have a predominately Canadian flavour, we are sure you will find his
legal point of view enlightening where ever you ship sails. Darren has also
published other legal articles on general admiralty law, view them all at the
League
& Williams
website. You may reach Darren for questions or comments by
email at "info at leaguelaw.com", or phone at (250) 888-0002.
The information contained in the written material herein is not legal advice
and should not be relied on as legal advice. It is for information purposes
only. If you require legal advice you should consult a lawyer.
To better understand legal terms used, consult the Legal Glossary. You may also want to see other glossaries, modern mariners and marine abbreviations .
| Date | Title and Synopsis | |
| February 2011 | Terminating a
Mariner for Poor Performance: Beyond the Duty to Simply Warn A recent B.C. court case involving the termination of a towboat master serves as an important reminder of when, why, and how, an employer may properly terminate a mariner... (read more) |
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| January 2011 | A Mariner’s Primer
on Limitation Periods: Is It Too Late to Sue, or Be Sued? Whether it is too late to be sued, or too late to sue, is an unfortunate question... (read more) |
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| Sept 2009 | Minimum Safe
Manning Documents - Enough Hands On Deck? Since coming into force on July 1, 2007, mariners and vessel owners have been adjusting to significant changes to vessel... (read more) |
|
| August 2009 | The First Year of
Fines : Update on the New Marine Administrative Monetary Penalty
System Offences under the Canada Shipping Act 2001 (“CSA 2001”) no longer need to be prosecuted in court in order for mariners and vessel owners to feel the financial sting of accidents or momentary lapses in judgment. (read more) |
|
| June 2009 | Finders Keepers? -
Salvage Law for the Non-Professional Salvor A mariner’s rights and responsibilities relating to salvage are often misunderstood. Finding an abandoned vessel at sea or along the shoreline, for example, does not give the mariner the automatic right to salvage the vessel... (read more) |
|
| Feb 2009 | “Commercial
Morality” in Ship Repairs – The Doctrine of Conscionability Shipyards are frequently criticized for the cost of their work. This criticism is often, but not always, unfair. Many ships are bought without full knowledge of the work that is needed to make them truly seaworthy, or without appreciating the ongoing cost of properly maintaining a ship... (read more) |
|
| Jan 2009 | Falling Asleep at
the Wheel: Negligence, or Gross Negligence? Hardly a mariner who has taken the wheel of a vessel can deny that at some point in their career they have fallen asleep, even for the briefest of moments. (read more) |
|
| Dec 2008 | Marine Law Myths:
Registering Liens on Vessels A lien is neither easy to define, nor easy to understand, but almost everyone knows that a lien is something they don’t want on their property. (read more) |
|
| August 2008 | Sinking Ships
Loosen Lips: Privilege and the Right to Counsel in Marine
Accidents Be it a sinking, a collision, a catastrophic machinery failure, a personal injury or death aboard a ship, or an oil spill, a mariner is well advised to understand the nature of their responsibility to cooperate with marine investigations... (read more) |
|
| July 2008 | Criminal Negligence It is commonly thought that criminal charges only arise where a person intends to commit the criminal act. Television shows often depict people being acquitted of a criminal charge, such as theft or assault... (read more) |
|
| April 2008 | Violation Tickets
for Engineers? The Canada Shipping Act 2001 ("CSA 2001"), which came into force on July 1, 2007, replaced the former Canada Shipping Act and brought with it many important changes to the law. One important change was the implementation of the Administrative Monetary Penalty (AMP)... (read more) |
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| Jan 2008 | Without Prejudice It is a common misconception that marking a letter, email, or other correspondence with the expression "without prejudice", makes the person using that expression immune from the content of what is written. (read more) |
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| Dec 2007 | Administrative Monetary Penalties (AMP) in Canada - Part 2 In last month's "Advocate" we discussed the new "AMP" (Administrative Monetary Penalty) system currently being brought into effect under the Canada Shipping Act 2001 ("CSA 2001"). I described how the AMP system was intended to encourage compliance... (read more) |
|
| Nov 2007 | Administrative
Monetary Penalties (AMP) in Canada - Part 1 This month's "Advocate" will focus on the implementation of AMPS (Administrative Monetary Penalties), a system of ticketing and fines akin to motor vehicle traffic tickets that legislators hope will make enforcement of the CSA 2001 and regulations more effective... (read more) |
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| August 2007 | Wage Claimants
Proceed Against Asset Outside of Bankruptcy, Trumping Previously
Registered Mortgage The interplay between bankruptcy and maritime law continues to surprise bankruptcy lawyers to the pleasure of their counterparts in admiralty. In Nanaimo Harbour Link Corporation v. Abakhan & Associates (Trustees) Inc. ... (read more) |
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| June 2007 | Unsafe Working
Conditions: Rights and Responsibilities of Workers and Employers Since the earliest example of a person trading their labour for reward in an adventure at sea, the question has arisen: "is this work more dangerous than it needs to be?". (read more) |
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| May 2007 | Notice to Mariners:
Beware The Hazards of E-Mail In my practice as a marine lawyer I have seen more than few mariners sink themselves as a result of the hazardous use of electronic mail, or "e-mail". (read more) |
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| April 2007 | Principles of
Contract Law for Mariners Obligations to Perform & Fundamental Breach; costly consequences can flow from incorrectly assuming that another person's failure to abide by a contract relieves you of your obligations under the same agreement. (read more) |
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| Feb. 2007 | Employment Law
Primer for Mariners - Severance and Damages for Wrongful
Dismissal In last month's "Advocate" we outlined the law regarding a maritime lien for a seaman's wages and discussed why the powerful remedy of such a lien, ... (read more) |
|
| Jan. 2007 | Seaman's Wage
Claims, and Maritime Liens: Introduction to the Principles The remedies available to seamen when their wages go unpaid are unlike those remedies available to any worker in any other industry - they are truly extraordinary. It is wise for every mariner to have a basic understanding of what a maritime lien for wages is... (read more) |
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| July 2006 | Changes to
Transport Canada Policy: Anti-depressants & Crew Medical
Certificates When in 1914 Ernest Shackleton published his renown advertisement for crew to man his transatlantic expedition to Antarctica, he clearly considered, as a prudent master would, the psychological pressures that would beset his crew. (read more) |
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| Dec. 2005 | “Electrolysis” and
Impressed Current Corrosion as an insured “Peril of the Sea” If your vessel has ever been damaged by “electrolysis” and you have claimed on your hull and machinery insurance, chances are you have been denied insurance ... (read more) |
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| July 2005 | “Get Off My Boat” –
Vessel Searches and a Mariners Right to Privacy A reader recently asked me to describe her right to deny an enforcement officer access to her vessel. The request highlights a common misconception that a mariner has the right to stop an enforcement officer from boarding their vessel without a search warrant. (read more) |
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| May 2005 | Of Seagulls and
Bilge Water: A Primer on Bill C-15 Despite its harmless sounding name, “An Act to amend the Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994 and the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999”, the new federal law proposed under Bill C-15... (read more) |
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| April 2005 | Buying & Selling
Marine Merchandise – Part II Caveat Emptor: The Rule of “Buyer Beware” Prevails The rule of “buyer beware”, or caveat emptor, remains good law in Canada and mariners are wise to understand its principles. (read more) |
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| March 2005 | Buying & Selling
Marine Merchandise – Part I Death of the Implied Warranty of Fitness The purchase and sale of marine merchandise gives rise to a significant portion of my work as a marine lawyer. Claims by purchasers, and defences for vendors, ... (read more) |
|
| Feb. 2005 | When being Impaired
on a Moored Vessel becomes a Criminal Offence I recently went to trial for a towboat skipper who had been charged with being in “care and control” of his vessel while “impaired”, contrary to section 253(a) of the Canada Criminal Code. (read more) |
|
| Jan. 2005 | Myths of the
Repairers Lien Act Mariners, and businesses in the marine industry, should know that their rights and liabilities under the BC Repairers Liens are not what they once were, nor what they may assume. (read more) |
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| Dec. 2004 | Workplace Safety
and the Law Recent amendments to the Criminal Code establish a specific legal duty for employers to take steps towards a safe workplace, including on the water. Failure to do so may result in charges of criminal negligence. (read more) |
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| May 2004 | The Mariner’s
Rights in Salvage: A Primer for the Non-Professional Salvor This article is intended to outline of the rights and responsibilities of mariners who undertake “pure” salvage, that is, salvage work done without a salvage contract. (read more) |
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| March 2004 | A Primer on
Regulatory Offences: Absolute and Strict Liability The majority of legal liabilities a mariner may face in the course of their nautical career will be “regulatory offences”. Regulatory offences include ‘crimes’ like oil pollution, unlicensed fishing, maintaining an unsafe work place... (read more) |
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| June 2003 | Confined Spaces –
Keeping a Clear Head In January of 2002, eight crewmembers were killed by an explosion while spray painting the inside of an upper ballast tank of their Hong Kong registered bulk carrier. Five bodies were found, while three were presumed to have been vaporized. (read more) |
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About
Darren Williams, BSc. LLb.
Darren Williams is a Barrister and
Solicitor (Lawyer) with Williams & Company in Victoria B.C. Mr. Williams was
raised on Vancouver Island in a second generation commercial fishing family and
started working on vessels as an adolescent. Mr. Williams spent over 1000 days
at sea along all portions of the B.C. coast between 1985 and 1997. In 1990 he
graduated from Brentwood College and attended the University of Victoria, where
he completed a Bachelor of Science with Honours in Psychology in 1996, and a
Bachelor of Laws in 2000.
Mr. Williams worked as an associate at a
Vancouver admiralty law firm and worked for marine underwriters including Lloyds
of London. Mr. Williams has appeared before:
- Provincial, Supreme and Appeal Courts of British Columbia
- Federal Trial and . Appeal Courts Labour Relations and Employment Standards Board
- Workers Compensation Review and Appeal Board
- National Energy Board
Mr. Williams has been invited to speak and has presented on marine issues to:
- Canadian Institute of Marine Engineers
- Transport Canada, Marine Safety
- Canadian General Standards Board
- The Canadian Institute
- CBC television and radio news shows as a specialist in marine law
- Mutual Marine Insurance Company
- Deep Sea Trawlers Association
Mr. Williams publishes monthly in the area of marine law and has to his credit over 50 works in publications including:
- Western Mariner
- Canadian Transportation Law Reporter
- Mariner Life
- Resource People
- Fisherman Life
- Pacific Yachting
- Northern Aquaculture
- Lawyers Weekly
Other
law related
resource on www.dieselduck.net
- 2008 Transport Canada Ship Safety Bulletin AMP Scheme
- 2008 Transport Canada Administrative Monetary Penalty
Interested in other Admiralty Law related websites ?
- Istanbul's Bilgi University
- Find out about admiralty law at the Virtual Library.
- Check out Admiralty Law Canadian website on current affairs.
Know your rights as a professional seafarer
If you are involved in a maritime incident, you should be aware of your rights. No matter where you are from, where you are working, and what has happen, you have a right to due process.
You can download the poster pictured, to print, and put up on your ship's bulletin board, for the benefit of all your crewmates and your company. You can read further on your rights and obligations in further details, in this document.
