Randolph v. Waterman Steamship Corp., 193 of 1958

• Decision Date: 03 September 1958
• Docket Number: No. 193 of 1958,193 of 1958
• Parties: Arthur RANDOLPH v. WATERMAN STEAMSHIP CORP., States Marine Corp., and Paul J. Carey and Ruth F. Carey, trading as Chester Stevedoring Co.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Pennsylvania

166 F. Supp. 732

Arthur RANDOLPH v. WATERMAN STEAMSHIP CORP., States Marine Corp., and Paul J. Carey and Ruth F. Carey, trading as Chester Stevedoring Co.

No. 193 of 1958, Admiralty.

United States District Court E. D. Pennsylvania, at Philadelphia.

September 3, 1958.

Louis Samuel Fine, Philadelphia, Pa., for libelant Arthur Randolph.

Bernard J. McNulty, Jr., Krusen, Evans & Shaw, Philadelphia, Pa., for respondent States Marine Corp. of Delaware.

LEAHY, District Judge.

Claimant Arthur Randolph filed a libel against Waterman Steamship Corp., States Marine Corp. and Chester Stevedoring Co. for damages for personal injuries sustained on February 9, 1958 at Wilmington, Delaware, while libelant was performing ship cleaning services aboard the vessel Topa Topa. Waterman admits ownership of the vessel. Paragraph 5 of the libel alleges the vessel, at the time of the injury, was "operated and controlled by the respondent, Waterman Steamship Corp., and States Marine Corp." States Marine denies this and has filed its Exception to the libel. States Marine admits it was the time charterer of the vessel but denies it operated or controlled the vessel and, as a matter of law, its absence of operation and management of the vessel could not in any way create any duties owed to libelant who was an employee of an independent contractor performing work aboard the vessel. The Exception of States Marine is directed at libelant only and does not raise issues of rights and liabilities between the respondents inter sese. No rights of other respondents are to be determined by a decision on the present Exception.

1. There are three types of charterers: (1) the voyage charterer; (2) the time charterer, and (3) the demise charterer. Under a demise the charterer takes over the ship, mans her and becomes owner pro hac vice. Such charterer operates, manages and controls the vessel as though owner. Under a time charter, the owner's master, officers and crew continue in possession of the vessel, its management and operation. The ship's carrying capacity is taken up by the time charterer for a fixed period of time for carriage of cargo between fixed ports. Crew, navigation, and management remain in the control of the owner and his agents. The time charterer in a sense merely rents cargo space.

2. Retention of control by the owner during existence of a time charterer is illustrated by the collision cases. The Volund, 2 Cir., 181 F. 643; Clyde Commercial S. S. Co., Ltd. v. West India S. S. Co., 2 Cir., 169 F. 275; The Beaver, 9 Cir., 219 F. 139; The Edgar H. Vance, 9 Cir., 284 F. 56. There appears to be a definite scale representing the various degrees of control which a given person has over the operation of a vessel. Examining the maritime relationship, a person's position on such scale is to be ascertained by looking at the contract which creates the relationship. Degree of control fixes responsibility to persons injured on the vessel. Thus, a demise charterer is in possession of a vessel by virtue of his contract; as owner pro hac vice he has the duties of an owner in possession. He must provide shoreside workers, for example, with a seaworthy...