Though you may be most familiar with maritime attorneys who represent sailors or those who own or operate vessels, they handle a much wider spectrum of duties. For example, just this month in South Africa, one such attorney, Alan Goldberg, arrested 7 ships’ worth of sailors on behalf of the country’s International Transport Workers Federation.
The 75 fishermen were found guilty of illegal fishing by South Africa’s Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Department. As such, they had not been allowed off their vessels for the past three months. Finally, the fishermen, who were mostly from Indonesia, were formally brought to the Lindela Repatriation Centre located in Krugerdorp.
The case received national attention because of the conditions the illegal immigrants on board were left to deal with. It was not long before food ran out, supplies ran short, and sanitary needs became a priority.
Fortunately for the sailors, a woman named Mariam Augustus heard of their dire straits and began seeing to their needs. Along with her husband, Cassiem, she cooked meals for the 75 sailors, saw to their laundry needs and even got medical care for those who had fallen ill. Cassiem and Mariam were also aided by Nakhilstan, a group dedicated to feeding the needy.
Interestingly, Cassiem also works for the International Transport Workers Federation, the same group who sent the attorney, Goldberg, to seize control of the ships. As of December 2, Mr. Goldberg had been able to secure control of 3 of the ships with designs to do the same for the remaining 4. The plan is to hold the ships as collateral until the debt for illegal fishing is paid.
This is a good example of the wide range of cases maritime attorneys can hear. Maritime attorneys often hear cases involving crews from other countries with interests counter to that of our own. Though Kirkendall Dwyer LLP handles personal injury, it’s easy to see how a situation like the above could have resulted in that type of lawsuit.
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