By Michael Bartlett on January 21st, 2026 in Jones Act
The Port of Mobile handles over 55 million tons of goods yearly and sees more than 1,131 vessel calls annually, making it Alabama's only ocean-going seaport and a key deep-water gateway for Gulf activity. Offshore workers check in at Mobile before boarding supply vessels, tugboats, and offshore support craft.
Seamen spend their rotations aboard vessels servicing platforms in the Eastern Gulf, where PFAS exposure from firefighting foam occurs during their shipboard duties.
The Middle Bay Port and Theodore Industrial Canal house facilities that provide shore-side services to supply vessels, drilling rigs, and platform support operations. These facilities offer manufacturing, fuel services, spool bases, towage services, and offshore logistics capable of supporting drilling activity in both shallow and deep waters of the central and eastern Gulf of Mexico offshore areas.
Alabama Shipyard in Mobile constructed platform supply vessels for GulfMark Americas to serve its fleet of offshore support vessels operating in U.S. waters under the Jones Act. Vessels transport personnel, equipment, and materials between Mobile and offshore platforms, creating shipboard conditions where maritime workers face PFAS-containing firefighting systems during long rotations at sea.
Platform supply vessels, tugboats, and offshore support craft built or serviced in Mobile carry aqueous film-forming foam in their firefighting systems. Crew members deploy AFFF during mandatory monthly safety drills required by maritime rules to practice emergency procedures. Whether working on deck, in the engine room, galley, or as part of the safety team, crew members breathe in concentrated PFOS and other PFAS compounds during training.
Workers who maintain firefighting equipment, refill foam concentrates, or clean application systems after drills have direct skin contact with PFAS mixtures. Cramped living quarters and work spaces aboard supply vessels allow aerosols generated during foam deployment to spread through crew areas, exposing workers even when they're not handling the foam directly. Because offshore rotations in the Eastern Gulf usually run two to four weeks, seamen experience multiple exposures during each cycle.
Recent infrastructure improvements deepened the Mobile Ship Channel to 50 feet in 2025, making it the deepest container port on the Gulf Coast. The expanded capacity allows for bigger tankers, chemical carriers, and offshore construction vessels serving the wider Gulf of Mexico region. Vessel traffic data from IMF PortWatch includes tankers hauling petroleum and chemical products related to offshore energy support.
The port connects through inland waterways like the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, allowing the movement of industrial products used in offshore energy and vessel operations. This infrastructure supports not just container and bulk carriers but also the supply boats, tugs, and service craft that transit between Eastern Gulf platforms and Mobile Bay, creating the maritime employment environment where seamen work aboard vessels in navigation.
Maritime workers diagnosed with cancer linked to PFAS exposure aboard vessels may qualify for compensation under the Jones Act. To potentially qualify, you must have been diagnosed within the past three years. PFAS-related cancers that qualify for compensation include:
A 2023 review found significant links between PFAS exposure and higher risks of kidney and testicular cancers, especially at elevated exposure levels. Other analyses connect PFAS to bladder and breast cancers, leukemia, multiple myeloma, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Workers must demonstrate they function as crew members rather than passengers or platform-based personnel. The legal test examines whether someone's duties contribute to vessel operations and whether they spend at least 30 percent of their work time aboard a vessel in navigation. Alabama mariners who run supply boats between Mobile and Eastern Gulf platforms, work as deckhands on tugboats servicing offshore routes, or serve as engineers maintaining vessel systems during multi-week rotations typically meet this threshold.
Port of Mobile serves as the logistical starting point where workers board vessels, but the Jones Act does not extend to shore-based employment at terminal facilities or brief vessel transit as a passenger. Coverage depends on doing your assigned work as part of the vessel's crew while it's operating in navigable waters that service offshore sites.
Alabama seamen diagnosed with cancer following firefighting foam exposure aboard Eastern Gulf supply vessels have legal recourse under maritime law, whether they are currently working or retired from offshore operations. Employers who required monthly AFFF training drills without supplying respiratory protection, allowed foam system maintenance in poorly ventilated spaces, or failed to disclose cancer risks associated with PFAS compounds violated their duty to provide a safe working environment.
The Environmental Litigation Group has represented toxic exposure victims for over 35 years. If you developed a qualifying cancer after working aboard vessels that regularly deployed PFAS-containing firefighting foam, contact us today for more information about filing a Jones Act claim.