554
Opinion of the Court
Our recent cases explain the proper inquiry to determine seaman status. We need not restate that doctrinal development, see id., at 355-368; Wilander, supra, at 341-354, to resolve Papai's claim. It suffices to cite Chandris, which held, in pertinent part:
"[T]he essential requirements for seaman status are twofold. First, . . . an employee's duties must contribut[e] to the function of the vessel or to the accomplishment of its mission. . . .
"Second, and most important for our purposes here, a seaman must have a connection to a vessel in navigation (or to an identifiable group of such vessels) that is substantial in terms of both its duration and its nature." 515 U. S., at 368 (citations and internal quotation marks omitted).
The seaman inquiry is a mixed question of law and fact, and it often will be inappropriate to take the question from the jury. Nevertheless, "summary judgment or a directed verdict is mandated where the facts and the law will reasonably support only one conclusion." Wilander, supra, at 356; see also Chandris, 515 U. S., at 368-369.
Harbor Tug does not dispute that it would be reasonable for a jury to conclude Papai's duties aboard the Pt. Barrow (or any other vessel he worked on through the IBU hiring hall) contributed to the function of the vessel or the accomplishment of its mission, satisfying Chandris' first standard. Nor does Harbor Tug dispute that a reasonable jury could conclude that the Pt. Barrow or other vessels Papai worked on were in navigation. The result, as will often be the case, is that seaman status turns on the part of Chandris' second standard which requires the employee to show "a connection to a vessel in navigation (or to an identifiable group of such vessels) that is substantial in terms of both its duration and its nature." Id., at 368. We explained the rule as follows:
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