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What is a Vessel under the Jones Act?

In order for the Jones Act to apply to your case, you must qualify as a “seaman” under the Jones Act. One important qualification of seaman status is that you are assigned to a “vessel” or fleet of vessels at the time of your accident.

Traditionally, vehicles such as cargo ships and crew boats have satisfied the vessel requirement, and in some cases, special purpose vessels may satisfy the requirement as well. In 2005, the United States Supreme Court held in Stewart v. Dutra Construction Co. that a special purpose dredge qualified as a “vessel” under the Jones Act. [Click here to read actual case]. It was argued that because the dredge was used for digging trenches and not for transportation or commercial purposes, that it did not qualify as a vessel; however, the Supreme Court disagreed. The Court clarified the term “vessel” to include watercraft that is “practically capable of being used to transport people, freight, or cargo from place to place,” but did not require that the craft be used primarily for such purposes. Therefore, if a vehicle is capable of mobility on the water, even if transportation of people, goods, equipment, etc. is not its primary function, it will qualify as a “vessel.”

It is important that vessels possess mobility and the capacity to navigate-unlike fixed structures such as drydocks and bridges-yet it need not have been in motion at the time of your accident. If your injuries were sustained aboard a vehicle being used, or capable of being used as a means of transit on the water, even if anchored or moored at the time of your injury, the vehicle will likewise meet the vessel requirement under the Act.

Finally, it is important that an injured worker seeking Jones Act seaman status also prove that his duties contributed to the vessel's function or mission, and that his connection to the vessel was “substantial both in nature and duration.” If your injuries occurred while employed in such a capacity, aboard a craft capable of waterborne navigation, the “vessel” provision under the Jones Act will be satisfied.