US shipping lawyer Rick Whelan has died from cancer at the age of 65.

The keen sportsman was a partner at Palmer Biezup & Henderson, having joined in 1981.

His practice was as a litigator and trial defence attorney on behalf of shipowners and underwriters.

Rick Whelan has died at the age of 65. He was with the US law firm Palmer Biezup & Henderson for 39 years. Photo: Palmer Biezup & Henderson

One of his cases involved the Athos I tanker spill on the Delaware River in 2004, when 263,000 gallons were spilled after the vessel hit a submerged anchor.

Whelan worked on the case for more than 15 years and it ultimately went before the US Supreme Court.

European fame

He was well known on the other side of the Atlantic as a keen competitor in, and sponsor of, shipping's annual five-a-side football tournament, the Marine Challenge Cup (MCC), in London.

His current and former co-sponsors of the MCC, led by Dan Tadros, now chief legal officer at the American P&I Club, said the maritime community had lost a "friend and colleague of great character and abundant friendship".

"Most of you know Rick from his legal career at Palmer Biezup & Henderson, where he practiced since 1981," they said in a statement.

Calm and courteous

"Although he zealously represented his maritime clients, he treated friend and foe with equal courtesy and respect. Rick was calm, no matter what the state of the seas around him, and his voice of reason was firm, clear, and definitive."

Whelan's greatest passion was his family: his wife of 42 years, Gina, their sons Denis and Reid, and three grandchildren.

His second love was sport, including lacrosse and track and field.

He was a keen footballer and supporter of Chelsea Football Club in England.

Whelan was a key player for the University of Pennsylvania's nationally-ranked football team and continued to play for many years, including during law school at Tulane University, where he studied maritime law, which stoked his interest in a shipping practice.

"The pinnacle of his soccer career might have been playing each summer in the Marine Challenge Cup, where he excelled as one of the most skilled of the ageing [and young] talent," his co-sponsors said.

Award in Whelan's honour

US shipping lawyer Rick Whelan was a keen footballer and fisherman. Photo: Chadwick and McKinney Funeral Home

A team from TradeWinds played against Whelan and his colleagues for many years, usually ending up on the losing side.

The plan is to resume the London-based tournament in 2022, after two fallow years due to Covid-19.

In the lawyer's honour, the annual recognition of the best footballer will be named the Rick Whelan Player of the Tournament award — "a fitting and lasting tribute to a man who was the man of the match in life's matches, except one," his team mates said.

"We will miss Rick," they added.

Whelan was also an avid fly fisherman, a voracious reader and the coach of two youth football teams.

Reliving his childhood

His wife Gina told Main Line Media News: "Rick often said he lived his own childhood all over again ['in a good way'] as we raised the boys.

"He loved teaching them to fish, find salamanders, catch crabs and minnows, sled, skate, boogie board, ride bikes, and go trick-or-treating strategically."

Whelan grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs and spent summers at Long Beach Island. He was a Haven Beach lifeguard for six years.

He was predeceased by his son, Richard Quigley Whelan Jr.

A memorial celebration in the autumn will be announced once Covid-19 safety protocols permit large gatherings.

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations be made to The Richard Q Whelan Jr. ’00 Memorial Scholarship Fund, c/o Jen Fifer at The Episcopal Academy, 1785 Bishop White Drive, Newtown Square, PA 19073, or the Ocean Conservancy.