Legal Definitions - intervention duty

The term intervention duty, in the context of maritime law, refers to a shipowner's specific responsibility to address and fix dangerous working conditions for longshore workers.

This duty applies even if the shipowner did not originally create the hazardous condition. It arises when two key factors are present:

• The shipowner is aware of a hazard that is not immediately obvious to someone inspecting the area.
• This hidden hazard is located in an area that longshore workers cannot reasonably avoid while performing their assigned tasks.

Essentially, if a shipowner knows about a hidden danger in a mandatory workspace, they have a duty to intervene and remedy it to protect the longshore workers.

Examples of Intervention Duty:

• Example 1: Hidden Spill on Deck

  Imagine longshore workers are preparing to unload cargo from a ship's hold. A section of the deck, usually covered by other cargo, has a patch of hydraulic fluid that leaked during a previous voyage. The ship's crew knew about the leak but hadn't thoroughly cleaned it, and it's now obscured by shadows and dust, making it difficult to see. The longshore workers must walk over this specific area to access certain parts of the hold to begin their work.

  This illustrates intervention duty because: The shipowner (through its crew) was aware of a non-obvious hazard (the hidden hydraulic fluid). The longshore workers cannot avoid this area to perform their duties. Even though the leak might have occurred during a previous operation or by a different crew, the current shipowner has an intervention duty to clean it up or cordon off the area to ensure worker safety.

• Example 2: Faulty Access Ladder

  A ship is docked, and longshore workers need to use an internal ladder system to move between different levels of a cargo hold. One of the ladder's rungs has a hairline crack that is not visible at first glance but could give way under a worker's weight. The ship's engineer had noted this crack during a pre-arrival inspection but forgot to report it or secure the area. The longshore workers are directed to use this specific ladder to access the cargo.

  This illustrates intervention duty because: The shipowner (via the engineer) knew of a non-obvious hazardous condition (the cracked ladder rung). This ladder is in an area longshore workers cannot avoid if they are to perform their duties. Even if the engineer didn't *create* the crack, the shipowner has an intervention duty to fix it or provide an alternative before workers use it.

• Example 3: Obscured Structural Weakness

  Longshore workers are moving heavy equipment across a particular section of the ship's deck. Unknown to them, a steel plate in that area has a corroded spot underneath, which is not visible from the surface due to a layer of paint and grime. The ship's captain had received a maintenance report weeks ago indicating potential corrosion in that specific area but had not yet scheduled repairs. This deck section is the only practical route for moving the equipment.

  This illustrates intervention duty because: The shipowner (through the captain) was aware of a non-obvious hazard (the underlying corrosion and structural weakness). The longshore workers cannot avoid this specific deck section to perform their job. The shipowner has an intervention duty to either repair the deck, reroute the operation, or otherwise mitigate the danger, even though the corrosion developed over time and wasn't a sudden event caused by the shipowner.