Collision, Allision, and Grounding Expert Witness
Collision cases are reconstructions. The AIS track shows where the vessels went. It does not show what the watch officer saw, heard, or decided, or what a prudent mariner would have done in the same minute. That is the gap a navigation expert fills.
Captain Stoller served on the Navigation Safety Advisory Council, the federal body that advises the Coast Guard on the rules of the road. He analyzes casualties against those rules and against ordinary good seamanship.
Issues Captain Stoller evaluates
- Lookout, safe speed, and risk of collision
- Meeting, crossing, and overtaking situations
- Narrow channel practice under Rule 9
- Navigation in restricted visibility
- Bridge team practice and distraction on watch
- Allisions with bridges, piers, and moored vessels
- Groundings in channels and on bars
- The Pennsylvania Rule in statutory violation cases
- Limitation of liability proceedings
Why his background fits
He has navigated large ships in open ocean and in congested harbors, and he has served on the council that advises on the navigation rules themselves.
Documents to gather
AIS data for all vessels, VDR, radar and ECDIS records, bridge audio and VHF, deck and engine logs, Coast Guard and NTSB reports, weather, tide, and current data.
Common questions
Is AIS enough to reconstruct a collision?
It is a strong starting point, but it has gaps and timing issues. He pairs it with radar, VDR, and witness accounts.
What is the Pennsylvania Rule?
When a vessel violated a statutory rule meant to prevent collisions, it must show the violation could not have caused the casualty.
Can both vessels be at fault?
Yes. Admiralty courts allocate fault by percentage, so the analysis looks at each vessel's conduct separately.