Admiralty, Maritime, and Transportation counseling and litigation in the Commonwealth and Federal Courts and administrative government agencies.

Since opening our doors in 1968, JGL has maintained an intensive admiralty practice that has no equal in Puerto Rico. Our office is the only active law firm in Puerto Rico with an extensive history and experience in the maritime field. Our maritime practitioners are highly experienced and thoroughly prepared. The JGL’s admiralty practice has no equal in Puerto Rico. Since its founding, our office has been involved in complex, groundbreaking, and precedent-setting litigation. To that effect, we have participated in every significant maritime casualty in Puerto Rico in the last 50-plus years, from the OCEAN EAGLE oil spill at the entrance of San Juan Harbor in 1968 to the Shipowners Limitation of Liability action in 2009 regarding the explosion and fire at the Caribbean Petroleum Refinery tank storage facility involving more than 4,000 claimants. Between 1997 and 2009, JGL represented ship interests in sixteen major groundings incidents.

Our admiralty attorneys are prepared to handle any issues in the maritime field in both the Commonwealth and Federal Courts. From the small survey coordination or cargo claim action to the single party or mass tort and multiparty litigation action. The spectrum of matters handled by our maritime attorneys includes:
- Collision and allision cases
- Ship groundings
- Cargo claims
- Personal injury actions
- Merchant seaman claims
- Multiparty and mass tort actions
- Shipowner Limitation of Liability actions
- Environmental damage claims
- OWS investigations
- Ship sales and financing
- Charter party agreements and disputes
- Terminal permits and licenses
- Port State Control inspections
- Marine terminal lease, construction, and operation
- Trailer interchange agreements and related litigation
- Maritime contract disputes
- Maritime insurance coverage disputes
- Support in the disembarkation and repatriation of ill and deceased crewmembers
- Administrative practice before local and federal government agencies
Response and related litigation on behalf of ship interests in allisions, collisions, drug or contraband seizures, fires and explosions, groundings, oil spills, OWS (MARPOL) violations, stowaways, and other marine casualties in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and other Caribbean Islands, include, among others:
- M/T ALBINONI (Fire and Explosion/Sinking), Dominican Republic in 1994
- MORRIS J. BERMAN (Oil Spill/OPA’90), San Juan, PR in 1994
- VOLCAN DE TENEGUIA (Grounding), Dominican Republic 1996
- FORTUNA REEFER (Grounding), Mona Island in 1997
- KAPITAN EGOROV (Grounding), Port of Guayanilla, PR in 1998
- AUTHOR (Grounding), Port of Ponce, PR in 1998
- SERGO ZACKARIADZE (Grounding), Port of San Juan, PR in 1999
- BT NEPTUNE (Grounding), Port of San Juan, PR in 1999
- M/V BOLERO (Grounding), St. Marteen in 1999
- NP UNITY (Grounding), Dominican Republic in 1998
- M/V MISTRAL (Grounding), Nevis, 2001
- M/V PROVIDENCE (Grounding), Port of San Juan, PR in 2002
- KNOCK DUN (Grounding), Antigua in 2002
- KENT RELIANT (Grounding), Port of San Juan, PR in 2003
- MARGARA (Grounding), Port of Guayanilla, PR in 2006
- TUG EL MORRO (Fire), Barahona, Dominican Republic in 2006
- CARIBBEAN BARGE, (Grounding) Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic in 2007
- M/T GENMAR PROGRESS (Oil Spill/OPA’90), Guayanilla, PR in 2007
- M/V SPORTSQUEEN (OWS), Port of San Juan, PR in 2007
- M/V HARNS (Grounding), Silver Banks, Dominican Republic in 2009
- MATTHEW LNG Tanker (Grounding), Port of Guayanilla, PR in 2009
- M/T PORT STEWART (Grounding), Port of Yabucoa, PR in 2009
- IN RE CAPE BRUNY (Tank Farm Fire and Explosion) (Shipowners Limitation of Liability, over 4,000 claimants) San Juan, PR in 2009
- CCNI VADU LIGURE (OWS), Port of San Juan, PR in 2010
- M/V DELTUVA (OWS), Port of San Juan, PR in 2010
- STI BATTERY (Allision Oil Dock), Port of San Juan, PR in 2015
- IN RE BAJA FERRIES (Fire Aboard Passenger and Cargo Ferry) (Shipowners Limitation of Liability, over 250 claimants) San Juan, PR in 2016
- NORWEGIAN EPIC (Allision Cruise Ship Pier) (Acting for Assist Tugs) San Juan, PR in 2019