Petition of Canal Barge Company

• Decision Date: 26 February 1971
• Docket Number: No. GC 6948.,GC 6948.
• Citation: 323 F. Supp. 805
• Parties: Petition of CANAL BARGE COMPANY, Inc., as Owner and Operator of the M/V ELAINE JONES, Praying for Exoneration from or Limitation of Liability.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Mississippi

323 F. Supp. 805

Petition of CANAL BARGE COMPANY, Inc., as Owner and Operator of the M/V ELAINE JONES, Praying for Exoneration from or Limitation of Liability.

No. GC 6948.

United States District Court, N. D. Mississippi, Greenville Division.

February 26, 1971.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Douglas C. Wynn, Greenville, Miss., and Robert B. Acomb, Jr., New Orleans, La., for Canal Barge Co.

J. A. Lake, Frank Thackston, Jr., Greenville, Miss., and George P. Mueller, St. Louis, Mo., for St. Louis Bridge Co. and Terminal R.R.

Harry E. Barsh, Jr., Lake Charles, La., for Mrs. Griffith.

Clayton J. Swank, III, Greenville, Miss., and Elmer Price, St. Louis, Mo., for St. Louis Fuel and Supply Co., Inc. and Fort Gage, Inc., claimants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

KEADY, Chief Judge.

On October 14, 1969, at approximately 12:20 p. m., a collision occurred between the M/V ELAINE JONES and the Eads Bridge, a fixed structure spanning the Mississippi River at St. Louis, Missouri, and connecting East St. Louis with the City of St. Louis.The collision resulted in damages to the bridge, the ELAINE JONES, and the death of the pilot, George L. Griffith.

Three days later — on October 17, the towboat owner and operator, Canal Barge Company, Inc.(Canal) filed in this court its petition seeking exoneration from and/or limitation of liability for the collision losses and posted ad interim stipulation (as amended) of $807,453.78 as the limitation value of the ELAINE JONES and its pending freight.Answers and claims were timely filed on behalf of (a)Mary Kathryn Griffith, administratrix of the estate of George L. Griffith, (b)St. Louis Bridge Company(Bridge Company) and Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis(Terminal), jointly as owner and operator respectively of Eads Bridge, (c)St. Louis Fuel and Supply Company, Inc., and (d)Fort Gage, Inc.These answers not only denied that Canal was entitled to exoneration from fault in the collision but also contested its right to limit liability.The claims as propounded sought money recovery from Canal for the death of the pilot Griffith, for collision damages, including losses in revenues, to the Eads Bridge, and for the minor property damage sustained by the other two claimants.Thereupon Canal counterclaimed against the Griffith estate asserting, in the alternative, that the deceased pilot's negligence contributed to the casualty.

An evidentiary hearing requiring seven days was concluded on December 8, 1970.After due consideration of the oral and documentary evidence the Court makes the following findings of fact and conclusions of law, to-wit:

FINDINGS OF FACT

BACKGROUND DATA ON M/V ELAINE JONES AND EADS BRIDGE

1.The ELAINE JONES is a twin screw, diesel-powered towboat constructed of steel with a Hydrodyne hull owned and operated by Canal.Built in 1967 by St. Louis Shipbuilding Company, it is a documented vessel of the United States bearing OfficialNumber 506770 of 597 gross tons with a length of 154 feet, breadth 40 feet, depth 11 feet, draft 8 feet, approximately 5300 horsepower, and equipped with kort nozzles.The towboat was fully certificated by the United States Coast Guard and also by American Bureau of Shipping.At the times relevant, the vessel's equipment was completely operational; and in addition to pilot Griffith, her crew consisted of the captain, Vernon E. Stroschein, two engineers, a mate and a relief mate, two deckhands, a tankerman, and a cook.Incorporated under Louisiana law with its principal office in New Orleans, Canal owns and operates a fleet of 15 towboats as well as numerous barges on the various inland waterways.

2.The Eads Bridge is owned by St. Louis Bridge Company, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Terminal; and for many years the bridge has been leased to and operated by Terminal.The construction of Eads Bridge in its present location in St. Louis Harbor was completed in 1874.The bridge was constructed with three spans supported by two piers positioned in the bed of the river, one pier on the Missouri shore and one pier on the Illinois shore.The center, or channel, span of the bridge is 520 feet in width and the two supporting piers are 518 feet apart at the city directrix level, a fixed reference point based on the high-water mark for the year 1826.The east and west spans are each 502 feet in width.The bridge is an arched structure with the center of each span being the highest point above the river.The lowest point at the center of the channel span is 55.72 feet above the city directrix; this clearance reduces to 8.32 feet at the pier ends of the center span.Eads Bridge has two decks, the upper deck to accommodate motor vehicles and pedestrians and the lower deck for movement of trains.The superstructure of the bridge is below the vehicular deck level rather than above it and thus presents an arch passageway for vessels traveling through and under it.Prior to the collision in suit, the bridge had never sustained any known damage by contact with waterborne craft, nor had it been declared an unreasonable obstruction to navigation by governmental authority.

NAVIGATION CONDITIONS IN ST. LOUIS HARBOR

3. St. Louis Harbor, the site of this accident, because of the presence of six river bridges, their close proximity and construction, coupled with the meander of the river and its currents, enjoys a reputation among river people of being a difficult area or passage to safely navigate, particularly in high water.A vessel southbound, as was the ELAINE JONES, after departing Lock 27, is first confronted with the Merchants Bridge (Mile 183), and then the McKinley Bridge (Mile 182.5), which present limited horizontal clearance.Immediately after passing the McKinley Bridge, the vessel must line up for safe passage of the Veterans Bridge (Mile 180.2) and then the Eads Bridge (Mile 180).Just downriver from the Eads Bridge are the Poplar Street Bridge (Mile 179.3) and the MacArthur Bridge, also known as the "City" bridge (Mile 179).For southbound traffic, a gradual bend in the river from left to right occurs above the Veterans Bridge and extends to below the MacArthur Bridge.Contributing to the navigation problem is the presence of Eads Bridge which, due to its arched construction, affords a limited amount of clearance in high water through which vessels can safely pass.Also, during high water, i. e., 20 feet or more on the St. Louis gauge, the current immediately above Veterans Bridge runs from the right descending bank to the left descending bank, from the Missouri shore toward the Illinois shore.This high water current condition, called a left-hand "set" or "draft", has a pronounced effect of moving a southbound boat and tow toward the Illinois bank rather than straight ahead.These navigation conditions exist whenever the river is at 20 feet or more on the St. Louis gauge and are facts known to experienced mariners navigating towboats through that section of the Mississippi River.

4.The Veterans Bridge, which is only .2 of a mile north of Eads Bridge, is so constructed that it has but one pier situated in the river bed, which pier is substantially in line with the left descending pier of the center, or channel, span of the Eads Bridge.Thus a downbound vessel and its tow must be "shaped up" to run both the Missouri, or channel, span of the Veterans Bridge and the center, or channel, span of the Eads Bridge when the head of the tow is no closer than one-half mile above the Veterans Bridge.A vessel and its tow accomplish safe passage only when they pass under both bridges directly in line with the green navigational lights affixed to the center spans of each structure.

5.The river at St. Louis Harbor reaches flood stage at 30 feet, a condition which periodically occurs.On October 14, the date of the collision, the river stage was 30.3 feet; this flood stage was the result of a sudden and unexpected rise of an unprecedented rapidity occasioned by heavy rainfall.For example, harbor gauge readings for the 5-day period were as follows:

  October 10             3.2 feet
                  October 11             5.2 feet
                  October 12            14.1 feet
                  October 13            25.8 feet
                  October 14            30.3 feet
                

As the river stage exceeds 20 feet, the force of the aforementioned set to the left above Veterans Bridge likewise increases; and also as the rate of rise in the river accelerates, the force of the set becomes more violent.Although a sudden rise of the river increases the severity of the set, this is an operating factor known to persons experienced in navigating St. Louis Harbor during high water.Moreover, the experienced navigator of a downbound vessel can reasonably predict the severity of current in St. Louis Harbor by observing upriver conditions at Wood River, Illinois, and water levels at Lock 27.

6.The above left set or cross-current is not encountered by downbound vessels except in high water.At all other times the current in the immediate area runs straight down the river.When navigating the harbor downbound in low water (10 feet or less), it is an acceptable practice for a vessel to approach the Veterans and Eads Bridges in line with their green lights and pass under both along the mid-channel sailing line, as depicted on the U. S. Engineers' official chart (Ex. 13).See App. A.This sailing line is the normal low water configuration for passage of a descending vessel.When navigating the harbor downbound in high water, it is the commonly accepted practice, in order to compensate for the left hand set encountered just above Veterans Bridge, to approach Veterans Bridge well to the right of the mid-channel sailing line, or favoring the Missouri shore.By this means, the vessel and tow are not forced by the cross-current to the left of the mid-channel sailing line, as it runs immediately beneath both the Veterans and Eads Bridges.Thus, a downbound vessel and tow that in high water approach the Veterans and Eads...