Maritime attorneys are closely following the death of a Ukrainian man whose body was found on a cargo vessel just before it docked at the Houston Ship Channel last week. According to news reports, the body of the man was discovered while the cargo ship was sailing. There were no gunshot wounds or stab wounds on the body of the man. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is probing this death.
The ship docked at the Houston Ship Channel at 9 PM last Wednesday night. According to FBI investigators, crew members told them that they found the man dead on the ship. The case is getting complicated because the victim was a Ukrainian national. The ship was in international waters at the time of the incident, and the FBI is trying to figure out which law enforcement agencies are responsible for handling this incident.
A person doesn’t have to be a US national to qualify under the Jones Act. The Jones Act is more concerned with the kind of vessel that a seaman was on at time of the injury and his relationship with the vessel. To qualify as a Jones Act seaman, a seaman must be able to prove that he was assigned to the vessel, the vessel was in navigation and that he had a substantial connection with the vessel.
Schechter, Shaffer & Harris, L.L.P. has represented Ukranian seamen before and has a relationship with the Ukranian consul. Schechter, Shaffer & Harris, L.L.P. was quoted by the Houston Chronicle in one of its pieces on this strange maritime situation.
Questions about Jones Act seaman status can be extremely complicated. However, it’s important to resolve these questions quickly, because compensation under the Jones Act tends to be more substantial than compensation under general maritime law or other admiralty laws. If you have doubts about whether you qualify under the Jones Act, contact a maritime lawyer at our firm.
