It’s a fantastic feeling sailing away and working on a cruise ship in the summer. Don’t go to sea in the hurricane season without taking safety measures and educating everyone on your boat. Miami’s top maritime law attorney Irwin Law has some precautions to make your ship safer and avoid injuries when the weather gets stormy.
Know Your Maritime Law Attorney
When you first set sail, you’re under the jurisdiction of the murky waters of maritime law. Maritime law is an extremely specialized field. It requires a deep understanding of world borders and international water laws. Luckily, some professionals are nearby to give legal advice in this lesser-known area. Before leaving the coast, make sure you have the contact information of some fishing or cruise ship lawyers. Hopefully, you won’t need them, but being prepared can save you in an emergency.
It would help if you also did some purposeful research about your rights on the high seas. Your captain has a legal responsibility to ensure a safe environment for its crew and passengers. Take notes of the relevant laws on board with you. It may seem excessive, but boats have shaky service and internet, which could delay your legal inquiry until you get into port.
Practice Your Emergency Plan
If you’re the captain of a ship, make sure that you have a comprehensive emergency plan that is communicated to all crewmembers–post safety information and maps in common areas, hallways, and bathrooms. Reinforce the written depictions of your safety plans with regular drills, both onshore and off. Everyone should be able to recite your emergency plans in different situations.
Workers: In addition to maritime laws, your employers also need to comply with standards from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration or OSHA. These workplace guidelines guarantee that you’ll be safe in any situation. Captains undergo audits regularly, but employees should be able to identify unsafe conditions in case you need to speak to maritime or cruise ship lawyers.
Pay Attention To Walkways And Furniture
There is an inherent risk in boating during the summer hurricane months, but staying diligent can lessen the impact on your ship and save your crew. The best thing you can do is secure all furniture by bolting it to the floor. Sometimes, boats only secure the furniture on the deck, but the best practice involves bolting down all furniture throughout the vessel to minimize the chance of injury. Consider organizing supplies with fasteners to make sure no one gets hit with a wayward life vest on a particularly windy day.
Whenever possible, keep an eye on the walkways throughout the workplace. Each one should have a few feet of clear egress to make sure people have room to move around quickly. During hurricane season, storms can have sudden onsets, and you can’t have people bottle-necked due to obstructions. All cables should be neatly run out of walkways. Permanent appliances with long wires can be taped to the deck for extra security.
Contact Us
Employees and employers alike can consult with cruise ship lawyers like us for more safety advice during hurricane season. There’s a reason we were chosen as the Best Lawyer in our field five years in a row. If you’re near our Miami office, contact us at Irwin Law to speak to Florida’s top maritime law attorneys.