Dianne Craig, Claimant-Appellant v. M/v Peacock, on the Complaint of Oscko Edwards, Harry M. Tompkins, Fairfield Industries

I respectfully dissent.

The majority decision in this case does a serious injustice to scientific personnel serving on oceanographic vessels. Seamen-scientists serving as members of an ORV crew may, at times, be exposed to greater perils of the sea than are traditional seamen. Here, for example, Larry Lewis, a member of the scientific personnel of the crew of the PEACOCK, while engaged in repairing seismic survey equipment, fell overboard at a place on the PEACOCK where the guard rails had been removed for convenience in handling scientific equipment. Yet, the majority affirmed: the trier of…