Afran Transport Company v. United States

• Decision Date: 26 August 1969
• Docket Number: No. 64 AD. 249,64 AD. 421.,64 AD. 249
• Citation: 309 F. Supp. 650
• Parties: AFRAN TRANSPORT COMPANY, as owner of the steamhip NORTHERN GULF, Plaintiff, v. UNITED STATES of America, Defendant. BRITISH AMERICAN OIL CO., LTD., Plaintiff, v. UNITED STATES of America, Defendant, and SS Northern Gulf and Afran Transport Company, Claimant-Third Party Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York

309 F. Supp. 650

AFRAN TRANSPORT COMPANY, as owner of the steamhip NORTHERN GULF, Plaintiff, v. UNITED STATES of America, Defendant.

BRITISH AMERICAN OIL CO., LTD., Plaintiff, v. UNITED STATES of America, Defendant, and SS Northern Gulf and Afran Transport Company, Claimant-Third Party Defendant.

Nos. 64 AD. 249, 64 AD. 421.

United States District Court, S. D. New York.

August 26, 1969.

Burlingham, Underwood, Wright, White & Lord, New York City, Joseph C. Smith, Stanley R. Wright, Frank L. Wiswall, Jr., New York City, of counsel, for Afran.

Hill, Rivkins, Warburton, McGowan & Carey, New York City, George Warburton, New York City, of counsel, for British American Oil Co.

Louis E. Greco, U. S. Dept. of Justice, Admiralty and Shipping Section, New York City, Philip A. Berns, New York City, of counsel, for defendant United States of America.

OPINION

TENNEY, District Judge.

These actions were brought by plaintiff Afran Transport Company (hereinafter referred to as "Afran") as owner of the Steamship NORTHERN GULF, and plaintiff British American Oil Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "British American"), the cargo owner, to recover damages from defendant United States of America resulting from the stranding of said vessel in the harbor of Portland, Maine.¹ These are actions in admiralty for which a remedy is provided under the Suits in Admiralty Act, as amended in 1960, 46 U.S.C. § 741 et seq.; Wilcox v. United States, 1964 A.M.C. 1206 (S.D.N.Y.1964); Tankrederiet Gefion A/S v. United States, 241 F.Supp. 83 (E.D.Mich.1964). Interest is allowable on any damages that may be awarded from the date that suit was filed. Petition of Oskar Tiedemann & Co., 236 F.Supp. 895, 910 (D.Del.1964). At the trial, four witnesses testified for Afran and British American, and one witness testified in behalf of the United States. Thirty-one witnesses testified by deposition.

On the morning of November 25, 1963, the tanker NORTHERN GULF, a single screw supertanker of 696 feet 4 inches overall length, 90 feet 6 inches breadth, 48-ft. depth, with a cargo of crude oil and a draft of 35 feet 6 inches forward and aft, arrived off Portland Lightship on a voyage from Bandar, Mashur, to Portland, Maine, and passed that vessel at about 0900 hours.² She was laden with British American's cargo of approximately 261,429 U. S. Barrels of Iranian crude oil destined for the Canadian Pipeland dock at Portland, Maine, for delivery to British American as consignees.³ The weather was clear, visibility good (9 to 10 miles), wind moderate N/W, tide last of ebb.⁴ On course 276 degrees true, she brought the Lightship abeam 700 yards off her portside, fixing the position with a radar range and visual bearing on that vessel, and then changed course to the right, reducing speed to slow ahead.⁵ Shortly thereafter, the engine was stopped and put full astern to take aboard a compulsory state pilot from a pilot boat positioned about one-half mile N/W of the Lightship, the pilot boarding and taking the conn at about 0910, at which time the engines were on one-half ahead, wheel hard left. Present on the bridge were the master, third officer, quartermaster, lookout, deck cadet and, at various times, the first mate. NORTHERN GULF was equipped with gyro-compass repeaters on both wings of her bridge and with bearing or azimuth circles, binoculars, radar and fathometer.⁶ On being advised by the master that there was no gyro error, the pilot ordered full ahead with the wheel still at hard left until the vessel reached and steadied on a heading of 315 degrees true, at which time he had Portland Light fine on the port bow and West Cod Ledge Rock Buoy No. 2 fifteen degrees on the starboard bow, with the course set to pass one-quarter mile off that buoy.⁷ The vessel remained on course 315 degrees true for about twelve minutes.⁸ Approaching Buoy No. 2, the engine speed was reduced to half ahead, and when that buoy was about two points forward of the starboard beam and 600 yards off, the order full right rudder was given, the indicator showing a 15-degree starboard rudder angle, the vessel requiring one to two minutes to answer the helm, and the course changing slowly to the right toward Witch Rock Buoy, the customary route for deep draft vessels.⁹ The change of course was begun at approximately 0924-0925 hours (course recorder time) with the vessel's heading changing to the right to 352 degrees true at approximately 0926½ (course recorder time) and thence to the left to 346¼ degrees true at approximately 0927 (course recorder time), at which time she was making about six knots (200 yards per minute).¹⁰ At about 0929½ (log book time) West Cod Ledge Buoy No. 2 came abeam to starboard about 300 yards off.¹¹ It was about two hours before low water with the tide running at ½ knot or less in a N/W-S/W direction, wind from the N-N/W at 15 to 17 knots.¹² The vessel remained on a course of 346¼ degrees true, travelling at a speed of six knots until she stranded some time between 0930 and 0931 (0930½ course recorder time) on the westernmost shoal of West Cod Ledge with Buoy No. 2 bearing 107 degrees true about 400 yards to starboard.¹³ Immediately following the stranding, the Coast Guard established that the buoy was in 75 feet of water and 350-400 yards, bearing 097¾ degrees, from its charted position.¹⁴ If the buoy had been on its charted position, NORTHERN GULF would have passed 350 to 400 yards to the west of her stranded position, in 80 to 90 feet of water and well clear of West Cod Ledge Rock.¹⁵

WEST COD LEDGE ROCK BUOY No. 2

West Cod Ledge Rock Buoy No. 2 was established in 1914 and was maintained by defendant as a floating aid to navigation marking the position of West Cod Ledge.¹⁶ It is described in the List of Lights as located "in 60 feet, south of rock east of Cape Elizabeth", a red lighted buoy with its light 12 feet above the water.¹⁷ It seems clear that the Ledge is a hazard to deep laden vessels of the size of NORTHERN GULF.¹⁸ Nor is it disputed that on November 25, 1963, NORTHERN GULF'S pilot and navigators relied on Buoy No. 2 to pass safely by West Cod Ledge Rock.¹⁹ Official records establish that the buoy had a good history of remaining on its charted position and most pilots entering Casco Bay and Portland Harbor in deeply-laden vessels relied solely on the buoy to determine their positions with respect to West Cod Ledge Rock, to pass safely by and to make the course changes toward Witch Rock Buoy.²⁰ There had been no published report that the buoy was off station prior to the stranding and many deep-laden vessels had proceeded between Corwin Rock Buoy No. 3 and West Cod Ledge Rock Buoy No. 2 from December 11, 1962 and until November 25, 1963 without stranding.²¹ Indeed NORTHERN GULF with the same master proceeded safely through the area on April 30, 1963.²² Nevertheless, I find that Buoy No. 2 was off station in the general location where found at the time of the stranding, and for a period of approximately eight months prior to November 25, 1963. It is, of course, true that "mere proof of the existence of a state of facts does not raise a presumption that the same condition of facts existed at a prior date, since inferences or presumptions of fact ordinarily do not run backward." Russell, Poling & Co. v. Conners Standard Marine Corp., 252 F.2d 167, 170 (2d Cir. 1958). However, in the instant case three Portland lobstermen testified by deposition that they discovered the buoy off its normal position in the spring of 1963 and that it was in the same position on November 25, 1963 until it was moved back on its charted position by the Coast Guard shortly after the stranding.²³ The fact that other vessels successfully traversed the area is easily explainable since the 7' to 11' 5" tide range would permit vessels drawing more than NORTHERN GULF to pass over the very same spot at high water.²⁴ In contradiction to the testimony of the lobstermen, defendant failed to produce a single witness from Portland Light Vessel, Cape Elizabeth Lightship, the buoy tender COWSLIP or from the four Coast Guard cutters stationed in that vicinity who could say that the position of No. 2 Buoy had been checked by cross-bearings or sextant angles at any time after it was first found off station by the lobstermen in the spring of 1963 until after the stranding.²⁵

While the Coast Guard "may establish, maintain, and operate * * * aids to maritime navigation", 14 U.S.C. § 81 (emphasis added), once it has established such aids it shall maintain and operate them as provided under 14 U.S.C. § 2. No other person, public body, or instrumentality, excluding the armed service, may establish, erect, or maintain any such aid without Coast Guard authorization, 14 U.S.C. § 83, or remove, change the location of, obstruct, or otherwise interfere with any aid established, installed, operated or maintained pursuant to § 81. Title 14, United States Code, Section 84. Once the Coast Guard "exercised its discretion to * * * establish a buoy at West Cod Ledge Rock and engendered reliance on the guidance afforded by the * * * buoy, it was obligated to use due care to make certain that the * * * buoy was kept in good working order." Indian Towing Co., Inc. v. United States, 350 U.S. 61, 69, 76 S.Ct. 122, 127, 100 L.Ed. 48 (1955). If the buoy moved from its charted position, "the Coast Guard was further obligated to use due care to discover this fact and to * * * restore it to its charted position or give warning * * *." Indian Towing Co., Inc. v. United States, supra at 69, 76 S.Ct. at 127. Coast Guard Regulations require "that the commanding officer shall make every reasonable effort to observe and check the proper functioning of all aids to navigation within the range of his immediate area of operations. He shall inform the district commander by dispatch of any aid to navigation that is found to be out of position or out of order, including information as to any corrective action taken by him."...