Vol. 11, No. 2, Pg. 32. Pleasure Boas & Jet Skis: Does Admiralty Law Apply?.

AuthorBy S. Scott Bluestein

South Carolina Lawyer

1999.

Vol. 11, No. 2, Pg. 32.

Pleasure Boas & Jet Skis: Does Admiralty Law Apply?

32PLEASURE BOATS AND JET SKIS: DOES ADMIRALTY LAW APPLY?By S. Scott BluesteinRecreational boaters and jet ski operators using the territorial waters of South Carolina share the sentiment of the Water Rat in Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows: "There is nothing-absolutely nothing-half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats."

Unfortunately, "simply messing about in boats" often results in accidents, whereby recreational boaters incur damage to their boats, suffer serious personal injuries or even die. While there are many remedies at law, numerous recreational boaters and their lawyers do not realize that admiralty and maritime law is applicable to legal matters involving recreational boats and jet skis.

The general maritime law of the United States, which was once reserved for governing the maritime commerce of transporting cargoes and passengers over navigable waters, is now uniformly accepted as being applicable to recreational boaters using the navigable waterways of South Carolina.

Admiralty law, as compared to land-based law, has its own unique laws, regulations, standards, customs, actions and civil procedural rules. In addition, there are many South Carolina recreational boating laws that may supplement admiralty law.

Often, admiralty law will provide a client involved in a boating or jet ski accident with more options or advantages than the client would possess under land-based South Carolina state law. If a claim comes within admiralty jurisdiction, then the substantive maritime law will control no matter where the action is filed. Therefore, it is important for a lawyer to be familiar with admiralty and South Carolina law when advising a client on a matter regarding a boat or jet ski. A proper evaluation of litigation strategies should lead to better results for the client and increased client satisfaction.

WHAT IS ADMIRALTY AND MARITIME LAW?

The maritime law of the United States consists of federal statutory law, international treaties adopted by the United States and common judge-made

34 law. It applies to accidents or incidents involving both commercial vessels and recreational vessels. Under the general maritime law, a recreational boat's owner and operator owe all passengers a duty of care not to negligently injure them and to warn them of any known dangers.

The duty of care requires the operator and owner to exercise good seamanship practices and the care of a reasonably prudent mariner at all times. Good seamanship practices or the care of a reasonably prudent mariner depend on such factors as the location of the accident, the type of boat involved, the water conditions, the current, weather conditions, other vessel traffic, the activities of the recreational boat at the time of the accident, whether the recreational boat was anchored and the movements of the boat(s) involved in the accident.

Courts have found that this duty was breached by not warning passengers of boat movements; overloading the boat with passengers, food, ice or other heavy objects; operating the boat while under the influence of drugs or alcohol; operating the boat while tired; allowing passengers to sit in a dangerous position on a boat; failing to determine the weather conditions prior to the start of a trip; not monitoring the weather conditions while on the water; and neglecting to return to shore in the face of bad weather.

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