Ralston

MEMORANDUM **

Alex M.M. Ralston appeals the summary judgment entered in favor of San Juan Excursions, Inc. (SJE) in this maritime negligence action under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA), 33 U.S.C. § 905 (b). We affirm.

Sections 904, 907, 908, and 909 establish a comprehensive federal worker’s compensation scheme which holds employers liable without regard to fault for payment of statutory compensation to covered injured employees. Section 905(a) provides that this scheme is the exclusive form of liability owed by employers to employees, so long as employers make the statutory payments. However, § 905(b) also allows employees to sue a vessel for injuries caused by the negligence of the vessel, just as they may sue other third parties for negligence under § 933. “Vessel” includes the vessel’s owner, § 902(21), and there is no dispute that SJE is a “vessel” for purposes of this action.

We are guided by the duties owed by a vessel in the context of a vessel-stevedore-longshoreman relationship set out in Scindia Steam Navigation Co. v. De Los Santos, 451 U.S. 156 , 101 S.Ct. 1614 , 68 L.Ed.2d 1 (1981), extended generally to harbor workers and to employers…