Practice Areas & Industries: Beirne, Maynard & Parsons, L.L.P.

Practice/Industry Group Overview

The Houston Ship Channel is one of the busiest waterways in the United States. The Port of Houston is a 25-mile-long complex of diversified public and private facilities close to the Gulf of Mexico. The port is ranked first in the United States in foreign waterborne commerce, second in total tonnage, and is the sixth busiest port in the world. Near Houston, Galveston Bay is the entryway for vessels from the Gulf of Mexico. It is not surprising, then, that Beirne, Maynard & Parsons has developed a burgeoning Maritime and Admiralty practice in Houston and other Texas ports.

Our Maritime Litigation practice overlaps with our Energy Litigation and Environmental Law practices. The firm handles and tries lawsuits involving admiralty and maritime matters, including:

• Personal injury and wrongful death claims
• Toxic exposure
• Charter party disputes
• Terminal operations
• Vessel arrests and attachments
• Marine collisions and allisions
• Salvage
• Fires and explosions
• Oil and hazardous materials spills
• Cargo damage

Our clients include vessel owners; operators; charterers; classification societies; shipyards; drilling contractors; oil service companies; offshore construction companies; terminal operators; towing and salvage companies; and marine insurance companies, their underwriters, and brokers. We represent employers and insurers for claims under the Jones Act, the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act, the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, and the Death on the High Seas Act.

Members of our maritime litigation team also have hands-on, non-legal experience in the maritime arena, having served aboard vessels as mariners, managed shipping companies that operated and chartered U.S. and foreign-flag vessels, and worked in the offshore oil fields. Combining their practical experience with their legal expertise and trial skills in this field, our team is uniquely qualified to handle disputes arising under maritime and admiralty law.

Representative Cases

The following are representative of the maritime cases we have handled for clients:

• Represented an integrated energy company in an international arbitration regarding the construction of two ultra-large crude carriers
• Defended a foreign flag bulk carrier for unexplained loss of vessel, cargo, and crew in the Bermuda Triangle
• Defended the owner of an offshore drilling unit in Harris County, Texas, against a claim by a construction contractor regarding a conversion from a mobile drilling unit (MDU) to a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) facility
• Defended a major chemical manufacturer against claims arising out of a bulk carrier collision with a chemical facility that resulted in property damage and business interruption
• Defended a Mississippi River barge facility against environmental claims in subsequent lawsuits concerning contaminated gasoline in Dallas County, Texas, and Eastern District of Texas lawsuits
• Represented gas shippers against a major common carrier pipeline operator for shortages throughout its offshore system
• Arbitrator in a shipyard construction claim pertaining to conversion of a foreign flag drilling rig
• Defended a Swedish anchor chain manufacturer in a suit arising from the sinking of a drill ship in the South China Sea
• Represented a marine construction company in an AAA arbitration involving the prime contractor against a subcontractor regarding the construction of offshore production facilities on the outer continental shelf in the Gulf of Mexico
• Obtained summary dismissal of a maritime cargo insurance claim against an insurance carrier
• Obtained summary dismissal of a maritime personal injury claim against an offshore oil and gas exploration company involving an injury sustained on an offshore supply vessel
• Numerous defenses of wrongful death and personal injury claims against shipping companies and operators