Matter of Hess Tankship Co.
| Decision Date | 19 June 1979 |
| Docket Number | 74-1274 and 74-2186.,74-186,73-343,74-304,Civ. A. No. 73-2020 |
| Citation | 526 F. Supp. 1333 |
| Parties | In the Matter of the Complaint of HESS TANKSHIP COMPANY, Owner, and Amerada Hess Corporation, as Bareboat Charterer and Owner Pro Hac Vice, of the STEAMSHIP HESS REFINER, for Exoneration from or Limitation of Liability. ALLIED CHEMICAL CORPORATION v. HESS TANKSHIP COMPANY OF DELAWARE, et al. ALLIED CHEMICAL CORP. v. LONDON STEAMSHIP OWNERS MUTUAL INS. ASSN., LTD., et al. HESS TANKSHIP COMPANY, et al. v. ALLIED CHEMICAL CORPORATION, et al. HESS TANKSHIP COMPANY, et al. v. The VESSEL XYZ, etc., et al. HESS TANKSHIP COMPANY, et al. v. The UNITED STATES of America. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Louisiana |
Charles E. Lugenbuhl, Wm. J. Larzelere, Jr., New Orleans, La., for Allied Chemical Corp., DeFelice Towing Co., Savare DeFelice and DeFelice Marine Contractors, Inc.
John W. Sims, J. Barbee Winston, Antonio J. Rodriguez, New Orleans, La., for Hess Tankship Co. and Amerada Hess Corp.
Hugh S. Meredith, Norfolk, Va., Alfred M. Farrell, Jr., New Orleans, La., for Allied Towing Corp.
David A. Paysse, New Orleans, La., for Certain British Underwriters.
Clayton G. Ramsey, Washington, D.C., for United States of America.
Robert B. Deane, New Orleans, La., for Great Fortune Navigation, Ltd.
On the morning of February 1, 1973, the SS HESS REFINER and a barge in the tow of the tug SOCRATES collided in the Mississippi River in Southwest Pass. Minutes following impact between the bow of the vessel and the starboard side of the barge near its stern, the skin of the HESS REFINER on the starboard side aft was pierced below the water line by a submerged metal object which entered the vessel causing flooding of an oil bunker tank and the lower engine room.
This accident has given rise to the usual claims by and between the vessels involved and their respective owners, charterers, and underwriters seeking adjudication as to the cause of the casualty and the recovery of damages sustained as a result thereof. In addition, as the result of the contact between the HESS REFINER and the submerged object, we are faced with more novel issues. Specifically, the HESS REFINER interests claim that the metal object which pierced the vessel was a portion of the rub rail of the M/V T-TRUC # 1 which sank in the area following collision with the M/V GREAT FAITH on May 10, 1972. Recovery is sought against both parties to that collision and against the United States for their alleged failures to mark or remove the sunken wreck and/or to keep the channel clear.
The owners of the vessels involved in the February 1, 1973 ship-barge collision deny liability for it and charge each other with sole fault. The owner of the T-TRUC # 1 denies that the offending metal object formed a part of the T-TRUC, which he was unable to locate following her sinking and subsequently abandoned. The owner of the GREAT FAITH denies that it had any duty to mark or remove the wreck and is joined in that position by the United States. The parties and claims involved in these consolidated lawsuits are set out in detail in the Appendix to this opinion.
Trial, restricted to the issue of liability, took place before the Court on a former day. Evidence was directed to the two central factual issues herein — first, the cause or causes of the February 1, 1973 collision and, second, the identity of the metal object.
After careful consideration of all the evidence adduced at trial, the comprehensive memoranda of counsel, and the applicable law, we conclude that the collision between the HESS REFINER and the SOCRATES' tow resulted from the combined fault of the two vessels. Damage to the HESS REFINER sustained by contact with the metal object was a proximate and direct result of the initial collision and should be considered as part of the total measure of damages to be apportioned between the parties at fault. Accordingly, we need not attempt to unravel the mystery of the origin and/or identity of the metal object, nor must we address the legal issues attendant to the claims for failure to mark or remove a wreck.
The SS HESS REFINER is a jumboized T-2 tanker approximately 605 feet in length and 75 feet in breadth and drawing, on the date of the casualty herein, 32 feet 1 inch forward and 34 feet 7 inches aft. The vessel is owned by Hess Tankship Company and bareboat chartered by Amerada Hess Corporation (hereinafter collectively Hess).
The SOCRATES is a 125 foot seagoing tug equipped with twin pilot-house controlled engines having a total of 3200 h.p. The tug's draft was 14 feet. The SOCRATES is owned by Allied Towing Corporation (Allied Towing).
The barge ALLIED CHEMICAL No. 44 (AC-44) is owned by Allied Chemical Corporation1 (Allied Chemical) and measures some 340 feet in length and 68 feet in width. On the date in question the AC-44 was drawing approximately 17 feet forward and 18 feet aft.
Early on the morning of January 31, 1973, the SOCRATES departed the Allied Chemical dock at Geismer, Louisiana, with the AC-44 which was loaded with liquid fertilizer. The SOCRATES was made up to the stern of the barge pushing it. The bow of the tug notched into the stern of the barge some 10 feet creating a flotilla of 455 feet in length. Headed downriver, bound for the Gulf of Mexico, the tug had a full crew and operational VHF radio, radar, lights, and sound signal devices. The weather was clear and visibility good.
At some point between Pilottown and Beacon # 26 (located somewhat more than three miles below the Head of Passes on the east or left descending bank), Captain Robert Scott of the SOCRATES spoke via radio channel 13 to river pilot Daniel Meyers aboard the upbound vessel AVAX.2 At this time he was informed that there were high winds and 10-12 foot seas on the bar beyond the pass. Wishing to avoid the rough weather outside, Captain Scott, at 2045 hours E.S.T. (1945 C.S.T.)3 rounded up his tow and pushed into the west bank of the pass. The weather remained clear.
The captain positioned the tow approximately one quarter nautical mile below a dike located on the west or right descending bank 3.05 statute miles below the Head of Passes (dike 3.05) and abeam of Beacon 26 on the east bank. The tow, headed north or upriver, was angled in toward the west bank. The vessel's heading as shown on the gyro was 355-359 degrees. The port bow of the AC-44 was believed to be aground. The tug was holding the barge in to the bank by use of its engines which were kept at half ahead with rudders set at 20-30 degrees to port against the 3½ to 4 knot current. The flotilla was lighted in accordance with applicable rules governing a tug and tow underway.
At the point at which the SOCRATES held up, the Mississippi is approximately 2000 feet wide bank to bank. A dredged channel 40 feet in depth is maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approximately mid-way between the tanks. The dredged channel is approximately 700 feet in width and is unmarked by buoys. At all times pertinent hereto, the level of water in the pass was four feet above mean Gulf level. Accordingly, the numerous hydrologic charts received in evidence herein reflect depths which are four feet less than actually existed on the morning of February 1, 1973.
After placing his tow against the bank, Captain Scott made radio contact with the vessel CHRISTRIP, a launch used to take river pilots employed with an organization known as Associated Branch Pilots, or bar pilots, to and from their vessels. Scott advised CHRISTRIP of his position and indicated that passing vessels should be so alerted.
Captain Scott and able-bodied seaman Vernie Cossette stood a six hour watch ending at midnight E.S.T. Both testified that during this period they checked to be sure that the tow was maintaining its position up against the bank. They indicated that this was accomplished by assuring that the dike remained within the ¼ nautical mile range of the radar. Two wooden stakes which they perceived to lie either on or near the bank off the port bow were observed to determine whether or not their position remained constant in relation to the bow of the barge. Both Cossette and Scott testified that the position of the stakes did remain constant during their watch as did the tug's 395° gyro heading. They stated that they observed Beacon 26 abeam and across the river during this period. No bearings were taken on any of these objects, their positions being assessed by "eyeballing" them.4 No determination was ever made with respect to which transverse portion of the dike was upriver from the bow of the barge at a distance of ¼ nautical mile.
From midnight until 0600 E.S.T. February 1, the watch was maintained in a similar fashion according to the relief captain/mate Gus Blake and AB Wilbert Goodwin. They testified that the beacon remained abeam, the dike one quarter mile ahead, the two stakes off the port bow of the barge, and the heading of the vessel at 359°. By 0600 E.S.T. (0500 C.S.T.) visibility was worsening because of fog which would periodically come and go.
Scott and Cossette returned to the watch at 0600 or shortly before. They testified that the position of the flotilla vis a vis the check points appeared to be as it had been the night before when they went off watch. The patchy fog conditions present when the two went on watch worsened until, for as much as one-half hour before the collision (according to Scott), visibility was restricted to approximately 100 feet. During this period Scott testified that he could see only the stern portion — approximately 80 feet forward of the stern — of the barge ahead, but from the list which he detected in its stern he perceived that it was still aground.5 Approximately 45 minutes prior to collision Cossette noted Beacon 26 to be somewhere between his starboard quarter and the stern of the tug. According to the watch...
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