The family of a deceased Texas police chief is blaming AP Moller-Maersk's US-flag subsidiary for his death.
A lawsuit filed in Galveston federal court last week claims that Christopher Reed, 50, and his wife, Jana, were traversing the Houston Ship Channel aboard their fishing vessel on 7 June when he was thrown from the boat by the wake of Maersk Line Ltd's 4,700-teu Maersk Idaho (built 2000) and drowned.
"As Chris struggled in the water, Jana attempted to rescue him by throwing him a dock line, but he exclaimed that he could not get his arms up," lawyers for Reed's family said in the complaint. "Chris was then hit by another of the Maersk Idaho’s wakes, and all Jana saw, to her horror, was Chris’s shoes floating."
According to the suit and media reports, the US Coast Guard did not find Reed's body for another two days. He was not wearing a life vest.
The complaint, which did not specify damages, alleged the crew of the Maersk Idaho were negligent and travelling at an "excessive speed".
It also argues that Jana Reed has a right to compensation for witnessing her husband's drowning, along with wrongful death damages for her and each of the three children.
Christopher Reed led the Kemah Police Department in Texas since 2016. He also served in the army as a paratrooper and military policeman.
The company did not immediately return requests for comment.
