b'unfortunate prior New York incident in which a vessel left and returned to the same port. The HawaiiCourtconcludedthatthelegislative history thus required a non-literal reading ofUSCG-Certied Light-Weight between ports. The reference to betweenAluminum Honeycomb Panels ports was a generic marine reference, not to be read literally.for Passenger FerriesThe Hawaii vessel operator appealed the lower Courts interpretation, claiming first that thedecorative | durable | functionalwords between ports should be given theirrigidized.com/markets/marinemostplainlyunderstoodmeaning,without referencetolegislativehistory.Thatis,that thewordsenactedbyCongress,shouldnot beover-riddenbylookingbeyondtheplain meaning, trying to determine what Congress meanttosay.Next,theappealcitesother Federal Court decisions outside the Ninth Cir-cuit, finding waivers valid, arguing the national policy dating back to the Constitution in favor of uniformity in maritime law. PVAs amicus letter was filed in support of the appeal, and the merits of national uniformity and simplic-ity in understanding statutory language. Since the filing of the case, a second case arising in Hawaii has likewise invalidated a waiver.PVAs amicus letter658 Ohio Street | Buffalo, NY 14203 | marine@rigidized.comwas filed in support of the appeal, and the merits of national uniformity and simplicity in understanding statutory language.Although the matter has been briefed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, it is a signif-icant possibility that the matter might not be immediately decided, as interlocutory appeals (i.e. appeals brought before the conclusion of a case), are highly disfavored. It is the strong possibility the Ninth Circuit may elect to defer any interpretive decision until the entire merits of the case are tried, thus leaving the matter unresolvedformanymonths.Ifthecaseis settled prior to being litigated, the issue may never reach the appellate level, and will have to wait for another case in which the interpretive issue arises. Nevertheless, the PVA elected to be at the table in any current discussion to make the interest of its members known. 33 NOVEMBER 2022'