MOPS for Passenger Vessel Officers
Passenger vessel deck and engineering officers serving on public and privately operated ferries, entertainment vessels, and vessels involved in local tourism regularly confront numerous professional risks, including:
- Collisions with other vessels
- Allisions with docks and other stationary objects
- Passenger injuries
- Groundings
- Hard landings resulting in passenger injuries
Even minor collisions can become serious concerns on vessels carryingpassengers, involving the potential for license, civil and even criminal charges.
If you face charges of negligence, you need the protection of MOPS.
MOPS’ optional civil legal defense can provide additional protection.
“I’ve never gone through a Coast Guard investigation before, and the MOPS attorney made it as unstressful as possible.”
––Ferry Master, New London, CT
MOPS in Action
While operating a passenger ferry with several paying clients aboard, a vessel’s master failed to confirm that the ferry had sufficient fuel to make the planned trip. The ferry ran out of fuel prior to reaching its destination, and had to obtain private assistance to evacuate passengers and arrange a tow to port. The incident was not reported to the Coast Guard until several months later.
Upon report of the incident, a MOPS attorney was assigned to defend the ferry master’s license against allegations of negligence with regard to the fuel depletion, and for the failure to report the incident. The master accepted a Letter of Warning in lieu of Suspension and Revocation (S&R) proceedings.
Total value of license defense services provided: $11,500.