Bluewater vs. Brownwater Vessels: Why It Matters in an Injury Case

Mariners split the trade in two. Bluewater means the deep sea: tankers, container ships, and bulkers crossing oceans and working coastal routes. Brownwater means rivers, harbors, bays, and the inland system: towboats pushing barges, harbor tugs, ferries, dredges, and the boats that work them.

To someone outside the industry it is all "maritime." To a judge ruling on whether an expert is qualified, the difference can decide whether the opinion comes in at all.

Different water, different rules

The navigation rules are the first difference. Ships at sea follow the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, known as the COLREGS. Inside the demarcation lines in U.S. waters, vessels follow the Inland Navigation Rules, and the Western Rivers carry their own provisions. Much of the language is shared. Some of it is not, and the differences show up in meeting and crossing situations, sound signals, and how vessels behave in narrow channels and on rivers with current.

The safety regimes differ too. Many ocean-going ships operate under the International Safety Management Code. Towing vessels in the United States came under Coast Guard inspection through Subchapter M, which gives operators their own safety management option. A case on a tanker and a case on a towboat may both turn on "safety management," but the documents, the rules, and the inspection history are different.

Different hazards

The dangers are not the same either.

On deep-sea ships, the hazards come from scale and isolation. Huge forces in mooring lines. Heavy weather days from port. Cargo operations with flammable or toxic products. Long voyages where fatigue builds slowly and help is far away.

On brownwater vessels, the hazards come from close quarters and constant work. Current pushing a tow sideways into a bridge pier. Deckhands walking barges at night, crossing gaps between them, handling wires and ratchets. Lock walls, fleeting areas, and bends that leave very little room for error. Traffic that never stops.

Harbors sit in between. A ship coming into port is a bluewater vessel moving through brownwater conditions, usually with a pilot, tugs, and line handlers all working together for an hour that matters more than the whole voyage before it.

Why this matters when you pick an expert

Courts look at whether an expert's background fits the opinions he is offering. Defense and plaintiff lawyers know it, and a challenge built on "he has never worked on this kind of vessel" is one of the most common attacks on maritime experts.

That challenge does not always win. Courts have accepted operations experts on vessel types they did not personally serve on, where the training, the rules, and the duties were close enough. But it is a fight you would rather not have, and it is better to think about it when you choose the expert than after the motion is filed.

A few practical points:

• Ask the expert directly where his time on the water was spent, and on what kind of vessels.
• Ask how his background connects to the specific opinions you need. A good expert can answer that in two sentences.
• If the case involves both a ship and a towboat, as many harbor allisions do, you may need someone with experience of both worlds.

Where my own background sits

I will be plain about this, because the other side will be. My sea time was on ocean-going tankers with Exxon, from third mate to master, much of it in the Alaska crude trade. After that I piloted ships in Los Angeles Harbor, which is about as close as bluewater and brownwater come to sharing the same bridge.

My brownwater background comes from that pilotage work, from my appointment to the Towing Safety Advisory Committee, which advises the Coast Guard on towing safety, and from decades of reviewing towing, harbor, and inland cases. When I give an opinion on a towboat case, I tie it to the regulations, the industry practice, and the committee work, and I stay within what that background supports.

The short version

Bluewater and brownwater are related trades, not the same trade. Match the expert to the water, or make sure he can explain clearly why his experience still fits. Either way, settle the question before the other side raises it.

About the author

Captain Mitchell S. Stoller is a Master Mariner Unlimited, former Exxon tanker master, and former Los Angeles Harbor pilot. About Captain Stoller