At Helsell Fetterman we have the resources and expertise that your maritime matter requires. We understand the unique laws and customs that govern the maritime industries—including commercial fishing and recreational boating—of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, and guide you through overlapping federal and state laws that decide the outcomes of disputes arising on the waterfront and at sea.

We represent and advise all sectors of the North Pacific fishing and boating industries, including vessel owners, shipyards, fishing and processing companies, vendors and suppliers, banks and other marine lenders, manufacturers and product sellers, salvage companies, and passengers.

Through a series of class actions and other lawsuits challenging underpayment of wages, employment discrimination, and unsafe working and living conditions, we have recovered millions of dollars and improved the overall working conditions of the men and women who go to sea on America’s fishing vessels and factory trawlers.

Our team has extensive experience representing marine creditors in creating, enforcing and foreclosing maritime liens, including vendors’ liens and ship mortgages, through vessel arrest proceedings involving the United States Marshal. In turn, we will follow a vessel and its owner into bankruptcy where the unique worlds of maritime law and bankruptcy law converge.