COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES [Abstract]

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

NOTE I - COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Commitments

As of December 31, 2011, 22 vessels that we own or operate were committed under various contracts extending beyond 2011 and expiring at various dates through 2019.  Certain of these agreements also contain options to extend the contracts beyond their minimum terms.

Contingencies

In the normal course of our operations, we become involved in various litigation matters including, among other things, claims by third parties for alleged property damages, personal injuries, and other matters.  While we believe that we have meritorious defenses against these claims, our management has used significant estimates in determining our potential exposure.  Our estimates are determined based on various factors, such as (1) severity of the injury (for personal injuries) and estimated potential liability based on past judgments and settlements, (2) advice from legal counsel based on its assessment of the facts of the case and its experience in other cases, (3) probability of pre-trial settlement which would mitigate legal costs, (4) historical experience on claims for each specific type of cargo (for cargo damage claims), and (5) whether our seamen are employed in permanent positions or temporary revolving positions.  It is reasonably possible that changes in our estimated exposure may occur from time to time.  As is true of all estimates based on historical experience, these estimates are subject to some volatility.  However, because our total exposure is limited by our aggregate stop loss levels (see Note E Self-Retention Insurance), we believe that our exposure is within our estimated levels.  Where appropriate, we have recorded provisions, included in Other Long-Term Liabilities: Other, to cover our potential exposure. Although it is difficult to predict the costs of ultimately resolving such issues, we have determined that our current insurance coverage is sufficient to limit any additional exposure to an amount that would not be material to our financial position.  Therefore, we do not expect such changes in these estimates to have a material effect on our financial position or results of operations, although we cannot provide assurances to this effect.

We have been named as a defendant in numerous lawsuits claiming damages related to occupational diseases, primarily related to asbestos and hearing loss.  We believe that most of these claims are without merit, and that insurance and the indemnification of a previous owner of one of our subsidiaries may mitigate our exposure.  Based on consultation with outside legal counsel, we have estimated our current overall exposure to the lawsuits in question, after considering insurance coverage for these claims, to be approximately $256,000.  We believe those estimates are reasonable and have established reserves accordingly.  Our reserves for these lawsuits as of December 31, 2011 and 2010 were approximately $256,000 and $284,000, respectively.  There is a reasonable possibility that there will be additional claims associated with occupational diseases asserted against us. However, we do not believe that it is reasonably possible that our exposure from those claims will be material because (1) the lawsuits filed since 1989 claiming damages related to occupational diseases in which we have been named as a defendant have primarily involved seamen that served on-board our vessels and the number of such persons still eligible to file a lawsuit against us is diminishing and (2) we believe such potential additional claims, if pursued, would be covered under either or both of (i) an indemnification agreement with a previous owner of one of our subsidiaries or (ii) one or more of our existing insurance policies with deductibles ranging from $1,500 to $25,000 per claim. 

On June 23, 2009, a complaint was filed in U.S. District Court of Oregon by ten plaintiffs against approximately 40 defendants, including Waterman Steamship Corporation, which is one of our wholly owned subsidiaries. The suit was filed for contribution and recovery of both past and future cost associated with the investigation and remediation of the Portland Harbor Superfund Site. Based on our review to date, we believe our exposure, if any, would be limited to an insurance deductible which we believe would be immaterial.