AS WIKSTROM, INC. v. The Julia C. Moran
| Decision Date | 20 December 1960 |
| Citation | 190 F. Supp. 250 |
| Parties | A. S. WIKSTROM, INC., as owner of THE LIGHTER NO. 64, Libelant, v. THE Tug JULIA C. MORAN, her engines, boilers, tackle, etc., and Moran Transportation Company, Inc., Respondents. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York |
Foley & Martin, New York City, John H. Hanrahan, Jr., New York City, of counsel, for libelant.
Burlingham, Hupper & Kennedy, New York City, H. Barton Williams, John S. Rogers, New York City, of counsel, for respondents.
Libelant seeks to recover damages for the loss of the Lighter No. 64, and its cargo, alleged to have been caused by the negligence of the Tug Julia C. Moran.
The Lighter No. 64 was an old wooden carfloat which was purchased by libelant in April, 1956 and converted to a deck scow shortly thereafter. Captain Herbert Evans, a surveyor employed by the U.S. Salvage Association, testified that the No. 64 was unfit for towage when he inspected her at Wilmington, Delaware, on June 25, 1956, while she was undergoing repair. It is not contended that his report came to the attention of respondent. There is evidence in the record that further repairs were made shortly before July 19, 1956. On that date at about 11 a. m., the Julia C. Moran took the Lighter No. 64 in tow at Wilmington, bound for New York City. The trip was the first made by the Lighter after her conversion to a deck scow. The weather was good and the water calm. Prior to the commencement of the voyage Captain Bergsted, the master of the tug, had been aboard the No. 64 for about an hour, inspecting the pumps and the condition of the deck and the arrangement of the cargo thereon. Libelant does not suggest that Captain Bergsted did discover, or that from his limited inspection he could have discovered, that the Lighter was unseaworthy. As the tug proceeded down the Delaware River, Captain Bergsted observed the Lighter, which was then being towed astern, tacking from side to side in a 40 degree arc. Both Captain Bergsted and Captain Evans testified, and the court finds, that such tacking was not unusual. At about 12 o'clock Captain Bergsted went off duty, as was his custom, and was relieved by the mate, Captain Fagerstrom. A deckhand was also present on the bridge. Upon his return to the pilot house at 4:45, Captain Bergsted immediately noticed that the Lighter's freeboard, which had been between 2 and 3 feet at the stern when she was first taken in tow, was down to approximately 1½ feet. He slowed the engine, ordered the tug to head towards the beach, had the tow line taken in, and sent a man aboard to start the pumps. Captain Fagerstrom testified that either he or the deckhand had continuously watched the tow, and that just before Captain Bergsted came up to the pilot house he had noticed the low freeboard, cut the tug's speed and started out of the channel. I find, however, that the diminution in freeboard was first observed by Captain Bergsted. The Lighter No. 64 sank at 5:15 before effective measures could be taken to beach her.
A tug owes its tow Stevens v. The White City, 1932, 285 U.S. 195, 202, 52 S.Ct. 347, 350, 76 L.Ed. 699.
The conduct of the tug...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Frederick Snare Corp. v. Moran Towing & Transp. Co.
...L. Levy, 2d Cir., 1904, 128 F. 683, 684; Southgate v. Eastern Transp. Co., 4 Cir., 1927, 21 F.2d 47; A. S. Wikstrom, Inc. v. The Julia C. Moran, D.C.S.D. N.Y.1960, 190 F.Supp. 250, 251; The Rondout, D.C.E.D.N.Y.1944, 53 F.Supp. 736, 738; The Morning Star, D.C.S.D. N.Y.1926, 10 F.2d 538. Rea......
-
AE Staley Mfg. Co. v. Porto Rico Lighterage Co.
...v. The Barney Turecamo, 202 F.Supp. 31 (S.D.N.Y.1962). 18 The Mariner, 52 F.Supp. 739 (D.C. Mass.1943). 19 A. S. Wikstrom, Inc. v. The Julia C. Moran, 190 F.Supp. 250 (S.D.N.Y.1960); Hart v. Blakemore, supra. 20 Sternberg Dredging Co. v. Moran Towing & Transportation Co., supra; Detyens Shi......
-
Massman Const. v. Sioux City & NO Barge Lines
...89 (5th Cir. 1975); Choctaw Transportation Company v. Ford Construction Co., 193 F.Supp. 922 (N.D.Miss.1961); A. S. Wickstrom v. The Julia C. Moran, 190 F.Supp. 250 (S.D.N.Y.1960). 3. When a tow sinks under normal conditions and in the absence of proof that she was improperly handled, it is......
-
South, Inc. v. Moran Towing & Transportation Co.
...Jones before the voyage commenced does not relieve the libellant of her warranty of seaworthiness (See A. S. Wikstrom, Inc. v. The Julia Moran, 190 F.Supp. 250, 251 (S.D.N.Y.1960)) and the scope of his inspection, limited as it was by virtue of the work done to outfit the Vega for her sea v......