Tanner Honea is an of counsel and a member of the Maritime and Offshore Wind Energy practice groups. Prior to joining the firm, Tanner was a partner at the New York office of an international law firm, where he focused his practice on major maritime casualties including vessel fires, collisions, oil spills, groundings, and cargo container stack collapse. He also has extensive experience litigating and arbitrating a broad range of matters, including charterparty disputes, regulatory violations, environmental pollution, cargo damage, and vessel attachment and arrest proceedings, including both P&I and FD&D matters.
As part of his practice, Tanner has led numerous shipboard investigations to develop key evidence in support of client claims or defenses, which has included representation of vessel interests during government investigations by the USCG and NTSB concerning vessel collisions, fires, MARPOL violations, and related penalties. This has included representation during criminal investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice into environmental pollution incidents, and successful completion of the USCG voluntary disclosure program.
Prior to his work as a lawyer, Tanner served as a commissioned officer in the US Navy, where he was stationed aboard a guided missile destroyer and various patrol craft. He qualified as both a deck and engineering watch officer and as the ship’s principal navigator. Tanner led a team of 11 sailors responsible for the operation and maintenance of the destroyer’s missile system and later oversaw patrol boat operations during two six-month deployments in the Persian Gulf, leading a maritime boarding party.
