Herd Dispute Resolution, LLC

The Iran-backed Houthis have declared a ban on Israeli shipping through the Red Sea — just as Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea exports serve as the only meaningful relief valve for Iran’s Hormuz blockade. Here’s what maritime workers and clients need to know.

No Safe Passage: The Hormuz and the Houthi Return to the Red Sea - Herd Law Firm The Iran-backed Houthis have declared a ban on Israeli shipping through the Red Sea — just as Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea exports serve as the only meaningful relief valve for Iran’s Hormuz blockade. Here’s what maritime workers and clients need to know. On Monday, Yemen’s Houthi movement decla...

The Maritime Action Plan is the most ambitious federal push for U.S. shipping in a generation. Cargo preference, a new trust fund, Maritime Prosperity Zones — the details will determine everything. Here's what Gulf Coast operators need to know now. 🌊

The Maritime Action Plan: Three Provisions That Will Shape Gulf Coast Industry - Herd Law Firm The Maritime Action Plan is the most ambitious federal effort in a generation to rebuild U.S. commercial shipping. For operators, shipyard owners, port executives, and their counsel, three provisions in particular warrant close attention before the legislative text is finalized. U.S. Federal maritim...

For the first time, a U.S. Navy drone has rescued two Apache pilots from the waters off Oman. Meanwhile, a Rhode Island startup is about to start flying passengers over the surface of the ocean at 180 mph in their revolutionary fully electric Seaglider. The water is getting a lot more interesting — and maritime law must catch up. Check it out here! 🚁🌊

Drones, Seagliders, and the Future of Maritime Operations: What You Need to Know - Herd Law Firm A U.S. Navy drone just rescued two Apache pilots from the waters off Oman. Meanwhile, a Rhode Island startup is about to fly passengers over the ocean at 180 mph. The water is getting a lot more interesting — and maritime law must catch up. On the morning of June 8, 2026, a U.S. Army AH-64

Big news on the Texas Gulf Coast 🚢 Davie Defense just broke ground on a $1 billion shipbuilding facility in Galveston, bringing complex vessel construction back to Texas for the first time in decades. That means thousands of new jobs. New blog post on what the Gulf Copper project means for shipyard workers and the maritime workforce.

Texas’ Maritime Renaissance: Davie Defense and Galveston’s Shipbuilding Groundbreaking - Herd Law Firm Advanced shipbuilding is returning to Texas for the first time in decades. Here’s why it matters — and what workers need to know. On June 1st, Davie Defense broke ground on a nearly $1 billion modernization of the former Gulf Copper shipyards in Galveston and Port Arthur — the first complex sh...

The Strait of Hormuz is open — barely. Ships are running dark, hugging the coast, trusting that Navy helicopters will show up when Iranian fast-boats do. Meanwhile, more than 20,000 sailors have been trapped aboard vessels in the Gulf for four months now, some surviving on a single meal a day. Our latest article breaks down what's actually happening in the strait — and what it means legally for operators and their crews.

Running Dark Through Hormuz: The Quiet Campaign to Keep Shipping Moving - Herd Law Firm The U.S. military has abandoned the megaphone and instead, picked up a phone. Here’s what the new, “low-profile approach” to protecting commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz means for shipowners, crews, and the global energy market. About a month ago, President Trump unveiled “Project F...

The maritime industry has a documented officer shortage and a workforce that is 1% female. These are not unrelated facts. New ICS guidelines on the Maritime Labour Convention take the first steps toward addressing both — with legal consequences for operators who don't keep up. Read our breakdown of what changed, what's already mandatory, and what's coming next.

The One Percent Problem - Herd Law Firm The maritime industry is running out of officers, but largely doesn’t utilize more than half the human population. The updated MLC guidelines are starting to ask why. When describing increasing shortages in the maritime industry’s international workforce, many professionals would claim not enoug...

The Strait of Hormuz — the narrow waterway that carries 20% of the world's oil — now has a new self-declared gatekeeper: Iran just launched an official authority claiming the power to permit — or deny — commercial transit through the Strait of Hormuz. There's no international law backing that up — but there are missiles and mines. Here's what it means if you move cargo through the Gulf.🚢⚖️

Tehran’s Toll Booth: What the Persian Gulf Strait Authority Means for Shipping - Herd Law Firm Tehran has launched a formal permission regime over the Strait of Hormuz. Here’s what it means for shipowners, operators, and seafarers — and why the legal risks may outlast the geopolitics. The Strait of Hormuz has always been a chokepoint — a narrow neck of water, barely 21 miles wide at its...

🚤⚖️ National Safe Boating Week is May 16–22! 556 boating fatalities in the U.S. in 2024 — the lowest in 50 years. But 87% of those who drowned weren't wearing a life jacket. This year, we can do even better!

Don't Be a Statistic: A Texas Boater's Guide to National Safe Boating Week - Herd Law Firm National Safe Boating Week is May 16–22, 2026! Safety can be simple, and summer is almost here. Every May, right before Memorial Day weekend turns Texas lakes into a beautiful, chaotic maze of pontoons and jet skis, the National Safe Boating Council runs its annual safety wake-up call, and this ye...

Six workers lost their lives when the M/V DALI collided with the Key Bridge in Baltimore. Shipowners tried to cap liability at $43.7 million under a U.S. law from 1851, but Maryland walked away with the largest maritime settlement in U.S. history — $2.25 billion.
We break down what happened, and why it matters. 🌉

Setting the Record Straight: The $2.25 Billion Key Bridge Settlement - Herd Law Firm The largest U.S. maritime legal recovery in history — and what every maritime professional should understand about how we got here. On March 26, 2024, the containership M/V Dali struck Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge, killing six construction workers causing the total collapse of the bridge a...

When someone gets sick or hurt at sea, "who's in charge?" may have a complicated answer. The MV Hondius outbreak is a real-time lesson in how international maritime law and repatriation during a health crisis actually works — and where it falls short.🌊🚢

Hantavirus on the High Seas: What the M/V Hondius Outbreak Means for You - Herd Law Firm Three passengers are dead, and a hundred and fifty people are quarantined across a dozen countries. The legal questions are just getting started. The M/V Hondius is an expedition cruise ship, taking passengers to remote corners of the world that most people see only in documentaries. But lately, it....