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Overview

Liskow has substantial experience representing clients before the National Transportation Safety Board and the United States Coast Guard, and several recent hearings of high-profile vessel incidents reflect that experience. For example, the firm represents the owners, charterers, and operators of the car carrier M/V GOLDEN RAY, which capsized and grounded near Brunswick, Georgia on September 8, 2019, with more than 5,000 vehicles bound for the Middle East onboard. A Marine Board of Investigation hearing was held soon after the capsizing on September 14-22, 2019.  See Coast Guard – Golden Ray Formal Investigation Hearing (uscg.mil). The capsizing is considered one of the costliest shipwrecks in U.S. history.

Liskow recently represented the time charterer of the L/B SEACOR POWER which capsized and sank in federal waters off the coast of Louisiana.  A Marine Board of Investigation hearing was held in August 2021. See Seacor Power – Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation (uscg.mil). Nineteen personnel were aboard the 175-story liftboat, which was in transit to a platform located in Main Pass 138 on the Outer Continental Shelf. Six personnel were rescued by the Coast Guard and Good Samaritan vessels, and thirteen personnel perished. 

The firm is also often involved in pre-hearing investigations and informal interviews by the NTSB and the Coast Guard arising from vessel accidents and other reportable events occurring on the Mississippi River, the Houston Ship Channel, the Gulf of Mexico, and inland waterways throughout the United States. The representation of firm clients often involves legal advice on whether a client or its employees have a right to counsel when designated as a “party-in-interest” by the Coast Guard or as otherwise provided under the Administrative Procedure Act. Regardless of the context, Liskow is prepared to mobilize resources to assist client in all aspects of regulatory investigations, from the first notice that such an investigation is taking place to formal hearings before the NTSB, the Coast Guard, OSHA, and other agencies. 

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