Cruise Shipping Miami Conference Begins Today

March 11, 2013

Last week was a world wind week preparing for Cruise Shipping Miami, a conference dedicated to the cruise industry. The complete program can be found here =>http://www.cruiseshippingevents.com/miami/conference/conference-program?cid=IEM_V_03102013_HOU_AttMon.

The Saturday before was the Fort Lauderdale Mariner's Club ("FLMC") picnic and while it has nothing to do with Cruise Shipping Miami, it always manages to be the weekend right before Cruise Shipping Miami.

Me (center) with fellow WISTA Lesley Karentz (right), also a member of the FLMC.

My husband (far right) with fellow FLMC members Jonathan Dunleavy and Laura Sherrod.

My fellow WISTAs and I attending the Women's Leadership Initiative Inaugural Luncheon aboard the NORWEGIAN SUN.

This past Sunday was the Women's Leadership Initiative Inaugural Luncheon aboard the NORWEGIAN SUN. The Women's Leadership Initiative was established in 2012 by the U.S. Coast Guard Academy Alumni Association to create a fund and endowment to directly support women's leadership initiatives that provide mentoring, leadership training and networking opportunities for female cadets and alumni with the goal of increasing women's retention in the Coast Guard and providing a bridge for service personnel to achieve success following their Coast Guard careers. This event was co-sponsored by Norwegian Cruise Lines and WISTA USA.

These two events were a great segway to Cruise Shipping Miami, where cruise leaders and experts are meeting to discuss trends and the future direction of the industry at this annual conference in Miami Beach. Monday began with a series of roundtable discussions on tourism. The four-day conference continues tomorrow with cruise line executives holding a State of the Industry session (one of my favorite sessions). On the panel will be executives from Royal Caribbean International, Norwegian Cruise Line and Carnival Cruise Lines, owner of the Carnival Triumph that spent days in the Gulf of Mexico disabled after an engine fire.

After Cruise Shipping Miami, I will be attending the Seafarer's House Golden Compass gala this Saturday night, honoring Roberto Giorgi, President of V. Ships. This is another great event that should not be missed...

Next week, I will hopefully have time to blog on the "scuttlebutt" of what occurred during Cruise Shipping Miami and the gala. What happens at these events does not always stay at these events...If you are interested in reaching me during this week, you may do so by emailing me at mov@chaloslaw.com.

Top 1% Most Viewed LinkedIn Profiles for 2012

February 17, 2013

I am excited to report that my LinkedIn profile is one of the top 1% most viewed on LinkedIn. Attached you will find the report from LinkedIn and what this means:  http://www.linkedin.com/200million/?_ed=0_2F8A0-FvYW6F6bWAAXSNrTTrPae67z_NEZnvoag8M3oMPARXg17TsMacdqdhYr69cVe8OLdrYFUzqhVYqI7vB04gPlm1k0S1s2rGyddj8MZtARRCmBoW2FY3Pe9JCfajdEW8I9d1yNNtkIFzHiVvKz

Thanks to all the readers of this blog, as well as my contacts in LinkedIn, for making this possible!

Best regards,
Michelle Otero Valdés
mov@chaloslaw.com

Miami Gets First Suit Against Carnival for Triumph Breakdown

February 17, 2013

       CARNIVAL TRIUMPH picture from Bloomberg News

As reported by the Daily Business Review and the various national news outlets, it took little time for passengers who disembarked from the disabled CARNIVAL TRIUMPH to sue Carnival. A lawsuit on behalf of passenger Cassie Terry of Brazoria County, Texas was filed against Miami-based Carnival in Miami federal court Friday. It came just hours after the vessel arrived in Mobile, Alabama on Thursday after five extra days at sea without power.

The 100,000-ton cruise ship became stranded off Mexico when a fire broke out Sunday in the engine room. The fire knocked out the ship's primary power source, crippling its water and plumbing systems and leaving it adrift. "During the horrifying and excruciating tow back to the Untied States, the vessel listed sharply several times, causing human waste to spill out of nonfunctioning toilets," the lawsuit claims. Terry waded through human feces to reach food lines where the wait was hours, and often the food spoiled, the complaint alleged. The suit filed by Gilman & Allison of Pearland, Texas, listed counts of fraud, negligence and breach of maritime contract.

If you are interested in contacting me, you may do so by writing to me at mov@chaloslaw.com.

Miami Awash in Abandoned and Derelict Boats

January 28, 2013

As I have seen for myself when I navigate the Miami River and as reported in more detail in the Miami Today, publication date January 24, 2013, forty-two abandoned boats lie within the City of Miami's jurisdiction. The City Commission appears finally set to do something about this problem. City Commissioner Marc Sarnoff has asked the City Manager and the administration to find a strategy for removing the vessels.

Boats that are abandoned in the waterways can pose a hazard to navigation and to the environment. The State of Florida needs to have a stronger commitment to provide clean, safe and enjoyable recreational boating on its waterways. The State of California administers a grant program to assist local agencies in removing abandoned vessels from the waterways. California also recently released a report on recommendations for reducing the number of boats abandoned in California. In addition, there are federal agencies that educate the various states and local municipalities on handling abandoned and derelict vessels; more on their program can be found here => http://www.uscg.mil/proceedings/spring2011/articles/28_Bright.pdf.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission may remove vessels that are considered derelict under state regulations. The vessel owner is contacted and a notice is posted on the vessel identifying it as a derelict vessel. The owner has five days to remove the vessel. If the owner does not take any action, he or she can be charged with a first-degree misdemeanor and may also be charged for the cost of removing the vessel. However, this law does not appear to have much "teeth", as is attested by the number of abandoned vessels in the City of Miami's jurisdiction alone (this does not include the other cities adjacent to the water in South Florida). Also, if these vessels are within the City's jurisdiction, the state authorities may be presuming that the City is "taking care" of its jurisdiction. Obviously, this is not happening and annual grants that are provided from the state are simply insufficient to tackle the problem.

Because the State of Florida has no salvage laws giving the finder of an abandoned vessel rights of ownership, there appears to be little incentive for private individuals to help. Florida is a title state, thereby requiring a transfer of vessel title from owner to purchaser in order to obtain legal ownership.  A person who finds an abandoned vessel and who wants to make claim to it must comply with Section 705.103, Florida Statutes. This will allow for a person to make claim to the property and make application for title transfer into his name.

The problem is that it would be considered a crime (theft) in the State of Florida to take an abandoned vessel without first getting title to it. Failure to comply with Section 705.103, Florida Statutes could result in fines or even jail time. The first step for a private citizen to help is the requirement to report the vessel to a law enforcement agency. The law enforcement agency will collect a fee (from the private citizen that is trying to help) for beginning an investigation, conduct an investigation under Section 705.103, Florida Statutes, and determine the owner of the vessel. If the vessel is not claimed in the process of the investigation, the law enforcement agency may transfer it to the finder with a bill of sale and evidence of the investigation. The finder would then make application to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to have the title put into the finder's name.

The investigation process reportedly takes between 45 days to 120 days, however experience shows that the process takes much longer than what is reported. The cost associated with an investigation is usually between $300.00 and $600.00. The costs may be more or less than this depending on the individual investigation requirements. Of course, if the vessel is a piece of junk (as opposed to a junk), no one would even attempt to notify the authorities (and pay up) to begin the investigation process. 

Leadership in this situation is what is required in the City of Miami. Removing these abandoned and derelict vessels has NEVER been made a priority in the City and the call to create a committee to deal with this issue is certainly in order--presuming that the people in the committee have experience with this issue. However, while the City and other politicians constantly cite the lack of money as the reason why they have been unable to take care of these eyesores, political will is required from the State of Florida to help the local authorities financially and the cities to be that "squeaky wheel that gets the oil." Continuing to lament a lack of funding without action is not action.

If you are interested in receiving a scanned copy of the Miami Today article or wish to reach me, you may do so by writing to me at mov@chaloslaw.com.