Clark & Watson P.A. - Maritime Lawyers

A state official in charge of managing the Intracoastal Waterway reiterated this week that docks in Palm Valley extend too far toward the center of the channel, hampering boaters in an area where five people were killed when their powerboat slammed into a tugboat moored at a dock.

Also, the straightness of the 8-mile stretch of waterway through Palm Valley encourages some boaters to go too fast, officials said...

About a third of Florida boating accidents in 2007 involved boats hitting docks and other stationary objects. In its latest annual report, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said 109 accidents involved fixed objects compared to 194 in which boats or other vessels collided with each other.

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When a boat strikes a stationary object it is called an allision not a collision under the maritime law.  The law and legal liabilities of the potential parties are different than when there is a collision between two vessels. 

Dwayne