Offshore workers injured on oil platforms or maritime vessels at or near the Port of Gulfport can turn to the skilled professionals at Arnold & Itkin LLP for the legal help they need. We represent maritime workers of all kinds, including shipyard workers, harbor workers, longshoremen, and seamen in Jones Act and all maritime law claims. In addition to aiding workers in Mississippi, we can offer our experienced guidance to American seamen worldwide.
Offshore work has the potential to be dangerous, particularly on an unseaworthy vessel or when negligence is involved. An attorney from our firm may be able to assist you or a loved one with a maritime claim involving a deck accident, a fall on a jack-up rig, an explosion on an oil platform or a serious accident caused by equipment failure. We can also handle cases involving fatal accidents and injuries.
If the ship owner, your employer, or another crew member was responsible for causing the incident, we can seek to hold them accountable. Even if negligence was not involved, your employer may be responsible for maintenance and cure benefits, which would include money for room and board and medical care until you are able to return to work or have reached maximum medical improvement.
Gulfport, Mississippi is a picturesque beachfront city on the Gulf of Mexico in Harrison County. Gulfport's maritime history is the history of the city. Gulfport was incorporated on July 28, 1898. The harbor was completed just four years later, and the Port of Gulfport became a working seaport.
Mississippi State Port Authority oversees the Port of Gulfport. The 204-acre Port of Gulfport is a bulk, break-bulk, and container seaport with 6,000 feet of berthing space. Traditionally, Central America has been one of the main markets for the port, with nearly three quarters of the imported cargo consisting of bananas.
The Port of Gulfport is just 16 miles from shipping lanes and 5 nautical miles from the Intracoastal Waterway—ships can be in international waters within an hour of sailing from the harbor at Gulfport. Companies with regular scheduled liner services include Dole Fresh Fruit Company, Great White Fleet (Chiquita) and Crowley Maritime. The port has on-site inspection by U.S. Customs, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the U.S. Coast Guard.
Long-term restoration and rebuilding plans from the damage to the port in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina could eventually make the Port of Gulfport one of the largest container ports in the nation. According to Port of the Future, state officials may use federal recovery money to expand the port's facilities and capabilities.
An enhanced Port of Gulfport would provide jobs and economic recovery opportunities for the residents of Gulfport and the surrounding area. The Port of Gulfport could not come at a better time—a widened Panama Canal is scheduled to open in 2016, rebuilt to promote trade by doubling the capacity of the Canal.
In February 2010, Governor Haley Barbour announced that Mississippi had received a $20 million federal grant from the Department of Transportation that will help fund railroad improvements from the Port of Gulfport to Hattiesburg, a major step in recognizing the importance of the Gulf ports. The new facility for the Gulfport Air and Marine Detachment of the Department of Homeland Security is located at the Naval Construction Battalion Center. The detachment operates small boat interdiction along the north coast of the Gulf of Mexico from the Louisiana-Texas border to Apalachicola, FL, and patrol the inland waterways that provide direct access to the Gulf.
The U.S. Coast Guard Station Gulfport provides maritime law enforcement and safety services, doing search and rescue missions when necessary. The Coast Guard Station Gulfport is responsible for 52 nautical miles of coastline along the gulf as well as Back Bay and Pass Christian bayous, with an overall 2,000-square-mile operating area.
Station Gulfport search and rescue missions range from responding to reports of minor disabled vessels, to medical emergencies and vessels sinking. Maritime law enforcement missions include narcotics interdiction, fishery enforcement and to inspecting safety gear on commercial vessels. Gulfport, Mississippi, occupies a prime spot on Mississippi Gulf Coast with almost seven miles of man-made white sandy beaches along the Gulf of Mexico.
At our firm, we have successfully recovered billions of dollars. We fight hard to protect the rights of injured seamen and are not afraid of going up against large oil corporations and insurance companies. Our maritime injury team serves all workers at the Port of Gulfport and throughout Mississippi. Feel free to call us when you need help.
If you would like to learn more about the services we provide, please contact a lawyer from our firm today.
Arnold & Itkin represented nearly a third of the crewmembers injured in the Deepwater Horizon explosion.
Because maritime law is so complex and so complicated, it is crucial that you work with an attorney who has an in-depth understanding of how it works and who has proven themselves in similar cases before.
