Case ID: us-ct-cl_63/html/0297-01.html
Source: Caselaw Access Project
Author: {"author": "Booth, Judge,", "license": "Public Domain", "url": "https://static.case.law/"}
Date Created: 2024-08-24T03:29:51.129683

MERRITT & CHAPMAN DERRICK & WRECKING CO. v. THE UNITED STATES
    [No. B-71.
    Decided April 4, 1927]
    
      On the Proofs
    
    
      Salvage services; ttasis of compensation. — The factors to he considered in determining an award for salvage services are: (1) The value of the vessel and cargo salved; (2) the perils and dangers of her situation when accepting service; (3) the dangers incident to the performance of the service by the salvor; (4) the value of the salvor’s outfit; (5) the actual expense incurred by the salvor; and (6) all other pertinent facts and circumstances connected with and incident to the situation involved; and (7) in addition thereto a sum over and above expense and profit sufficient to encourage salvage service.
    
      The Reporter's statement of the case:
    
      Mr. John W. Griffin for the plaintiff. Mr. L. Bussell Alden and Haight, Smith, Griffin dh Deming were on the briefs.
    
      Mr. J. Frcmh Staley, with wrhom was Mr. Assistant Attorney General Herman J. Gallowa/y, for the defendant. Mr. W. Glifton Stone was on the brief.
    The court made special findings of fact, as follows:
    I. The plaintiff is a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of West Virginia, and has its principal place for the transaction of business in the city, county, and State of New York.
    II. It has at all times hereinafter mentioned and for many years prior thereto maintained a large fleet of derricks, steamers, tenders, and other apparatus used and equipped for the purpose of recovering and salvaging vessels, and at all of said times maintained and operated said fleet, with its equipment, for the purpose of salvaging vessels in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the waters along and adjacent to the Atlantic coast of the United States and tributary waters, and has maintained various wrecking stations fully equipped for rendering salvage service at short notice, among which stations there is one located at the city of New York and another at Norfolk, Va. In general, its work was divided into two classifications — offshore and harbor. Its offshore department represented an investment of about one million and a half dollars.
    III. The facts stated in this paragraph have been stipulated by the parties through their respective counsel to be as follows:
    “At the time of the rendition of the services in respect to which this suit is brought the Graf Waldersee was an ex-German vessel in the possession of and being operated by the United States of America under the following circumstances :
    “The Graf Waldersee, under international arrangements between the allied and associated powers on the one hand and Germany on the other hand, to which arrangements the United States of America was a party, had been taken over by the allied and associated powers for the purpose of repatriating troops and of furnishing food supplies to Germany. Subsequently the allied and associated powers, including the United States of America, had agreed that the Graf Waldersee should be temporarily assigned to the United States of America for the purpose of supplying and repatriating American troops in France. Under the foregoing arrangements, while the Graf Waldersee was in the possession of the United States of America, and at the time said services were rendered, the vessel was at the risk of the United States of America, in respect to marine loss thereof or damage thereto, and the United States of America was responsible for the settlement of any claims arising out of salvage services rendered to the vessel. At the time of the rendition of said services the Graf Waldersee was engaged in transport service for the United States Army, under the direction of the War Department, and manned by officers and crew of the United States Navy, under the direction of the Navy Department of the United States.”
    
      IY. The Graf W alder see, built in Hamburg in 1898, was a steel twin-screw steamship 561.2 feet long between perpendiculars, by 62.2 feet beam, by 37.7 feet depth, with quadruple expansion engines. Her gross tonnage was 13,193 and her net tonnage 8,375. Her value was $1,500,000. She had 9 holds, of which 5 were forward of the fireroom and engine space and 4 were aft of the fireroom and engine space. These holds were known as Nos. 1 to 9, respectively, counting from forward aft.
    Prior to the voyage hereinafter referred to, the Graf Wal-dersee had been refitted as a troopship and accommodations for troops had been installed, among other places, in Nos. 6, 7, 8, and 9 holds and on the various decks above these holds.
    Abaft of the engine room and under No. 6 hold was a recess in which various auxiliary engines, etc., were placed. This recess was in the center of the ship, but it did not extend completely out to the sides of the ship.
    The ship had bulkheads between her holds which extended to the upper, or ober, deck. These were originally watertight, but had been cut. through to a considerable extent in refitting the vessel, so that they were no longer so.
    The Graf Waldersee had six decks, of which the uppermost was known as the sturm, weather, or shelter deck, and the deck below that was known as the upper or ober deck.
    Eunning aft from the engine room, a little above the bottom of the ship, were two shaft tunnels, or alleys, containing the propeller shafts. Each of these shaft alleys measured about 4 to 5 feet in width by 7 feet in height, and ran from the engine room back to the stern of the ship. As part of the vessel’s permanent equipment there were ventilators or escapes, which ran from each of the two shaft alleys up through No. 6 hold and No. 7 hold. There were two such ventilators in each of these holds. In these ventilators, in connection with the fitting of the steamship as a troopship, had been cut passageways about 13 by 13 inches in size, opening out to the various decks. There were also similar shaftways or ventilators running from the shaft alley up through No. 9 hold, with similar openings to the ober or upper deck.
    
      V. On the 11th day of June, 1919, the said Graf Walder-see, being then engaged in Army Transport Service, was en route to Brest, France, from New York. She carried a crew of about 550 men and 40- officers and had 10 passengers aboard. She also had on board about 3,200 tons of coal, together with about 1,500 tons of provisions for consumption on the voyage which she was making to France and on the return voyage on which she was to bring back troops. The said coal and provisions were the property of the United States.
    The coal was stored in part in the ship’s bunkers and in part in No. 5 hold, which was just forward of the fireroom. There were openings for passage between the fireroom and said No. 5 hold.
    When about 25 miles from Ambrose Lightship, and in latitude 42° 17' north and longitude 73° 18’ west, she was struck by the steamer Rodondo on her port side about 350 feet from the bow. This collision occurred at 10.59 o’clock p. m. of that day. The point of impact was at the longitudinal coal bunkers alongside of the fireroom. The fire-room began immediately to fill with water and at 11.02 p. m. the ship began to send out SOS calls. The ship’s boats to the number of about 10 were lowered, and the passengers and all members of the crew who would be unserviceable in such an emergency were lined up in readiness to go to the boats.
    The workmen immediately began to attempt temporary repairs by covering the damaged area with collision mats and tarpaulin and stuffing the holes with blankets, mattresses, hammocks, etc.
    The steamer Patricia, which was a sister ship of the Graf Waldersee, received a wireless call for assistance from the latter boat at 11.52 p. m. This call stated that the Graf Waldersee had been rammed and was sinking. The Patricia immediately went to the assistance of the injured vessel, and at 12.48 o’clock the following morning she was sighted. When the Patricia came alongside approximately 100 of the crew, together with the passengers of the Graf Waldersee, were in the boats, and at 1.03 o’clock the Patricia took aboard the occupants of these boats.
    
      By the time the Patricia arrived the fires had been affected by the presence of the water in the engine room, with the result that the steam pressure had been reduced to such a point that the foghorn was barely audible at 500 yards, her winches had no power, and her lights were out. The main source of power for radio transmission was also unavailable, but emergency power was available and in working order.
    At about 2.30 a. m. water began to come into No. 6 hold from the shaft alley tunnels and through some tap holes in the bulkheads. An attempt was made by the Graf Wald-ersee's crew to stop this leakage. At about 3.30 a. m. water began to come into hold No. 6 in substantial quantities through the shaft alleys and ventilator shafts referred to above, whereupon the working party of the crew, which had been in hold No. 6, was removed from that hold. At the same time water started to enter No. 7 hold by the same means.
    Communications were exchanged between the commanders of the two ships, decision was made to tow the damaged vessel to the nearest beach, and at 3.20 a. m. two 8-inch hawsers were secured and towage started. Speed was gradually increased to approximately 7 knots. This towage was continuous until beached, except for a stop to transfer the Graf Waldersee boats from the starboard side to the port side of the Patricia to save them from damage. This stop was made at 5.35 a. m. and towage again started at 6.20. About 7 o’clock the same morning the tugs Holtex and Margaret Sanford arrived, took a line to the Graf W alder see and assisted in towing.
    One of the calls for assistance reached the plaintiff’s representative at about 2 o’clock of the morning of June 32. This request for assistance came through the office of the commandant of the third naval district of New York. The steamer Resolute being ready for immediate salvaging work was notified and left with its gear from Stapleton, Staten Island, at 3 o’clock a. m. It was fully equipped with men and wrecking material. The Resolute arrived along the side of the Graf Waldersee at 7.20 a. m. and found her still in the tow of the steamer Patricia and tugs proceeding slowly toward Long Island. At that time her position Avas 22 miles southeast of Ambrose Lightship sounding 16 fathoms of water. At the time the engine room was full of water'; No. 5 hold had 18 feet of water; No. 6 hold, 15 feet; and No. 7 hold, 13 feet.
    The Resolute attached herself to the port quarter and placed a 6-inch chain drive pump in No. 7 hold, connected it, and started to pump at 8.20 a. m. She furnished steam and assisted in- towing and later placed a 6-inch duplex pump in No. 7 hold and began pumping with the latter at 9.30 a. m. These two pumps had a capacity of 700 to 750 gallons per minute. The wrecking creAV had meanwhile attempted to shut off the leaks in the ventilators and lower decks of Nos. 6 and 7 holds, but were not able to stem the rapidly rising Avater. These leaks came from four ventilators and Avere caused by the pressure of water in the engine room. At 9.30 a. m. the personal effects of the crew of the Graf Waldersee Avere placed on the tug Resolute. At 10.20 a. m. the plaintiff engaged the tug Juno to assist in towing the steamer.
    After being towed about 22y2 miles the Graf Waldersee was beached at 10.45 a. m. about 2 miles from the south shore of Long Island, near Long Beach, and in about 6y2 fathoms forward and 7 fathoms aft. Her head was toward the beach, and she was resting on a sand bottom. The Patricia, because of the danger of herself being beached, was not able to carry her clear to the beach and cast off her line at 10.23. The momentum of the ship, together with the assistance of the tugs, brought the Graf Waldersee to her resting place. She dropped a, bow anchor, and the tug Juno carried out her stern anchor and also brought back the members of the crew who had been taken aboard the Patricia. At 1.50 p. m. the Patricia continued her voyage.
    At the time of the collision the Graf Waldersee drew about 26 feet forward and 29 feet aft and had about 15 feet free-board aft (i. e., the distance from the water surface to the weather deck). By about 1 a. m. she had settled by the stern so as to reduce her freeboard to about 11 feet, at 7.30 a. m. to. about 8 feet, and by the time she was beached to about 6 feet. At 4 a. m. she had listed about Io starboard, at 8 a. m. 2°, and at 12 noon 6°. During her towage she rolled, but generally behaved well.
    The Resolute and those on board her, before the Graf Walder see was beached, had pumped out about 525 tons of water from No. 7 hold and checked the inflow of water in both No. 6 and No. 7 hold by tying mattresses around the openings in the ventilators so as to stop, or nearly stop, the leakage. Thus they removed 525 tons of water and, in addition, prevented the entrance of an indeterminable amount of additional water. If No. 6 and No. 7 hold had contained 525 additional tons of water the water line outside the ship aft would have been above the ober or upper deck from the stern forward to a point about the middle of No. 7 hatch. In that event there would have been grave danger that the ship would have sunk before she was beached.
    At the time of beaching holds 1, 2, 3, and 4 were dry and No. 5 was full to sea level; the engine and boiler rooms were full to sea level; Nos. 6 and 7 sea level, 8 dry, and 9 about 14 feet of water. These holds were separated by bulkheads, which were water-tight, but in this instance the water had gotten through the doors from one compartment into another before they could be closed, and also through the ventilators which had been cut through in converting it into a troopship.
    At about 7 or 8 o’clock in the morning of the 12th plaintiff received a call from its representative at the wreck announcing that more assistance was required, and the plaintiff thereupon proceeded to equip and make ready other boats of its fleet. The wrecking Barge Chittenden was made ready and was towed to the scene of the wreck by its steamer Chapman Brothers. These two boats arrived at about 7 p. m. of the 12th. The Relief arrived at 11 o’clock the same evening, and the steamer Rescue, from Norfolk, arrived on the scene early on the morning of the 14th. The Relief brought with her plaintiff’s own superintendent of salvage, who immediately took charge of all the operations.
    Divers had accompanied the Chapman Brothers and the Chittenden and immediately proceeded to work on the area of collision. They found that a collision mat had been used temporarily to cover the holes in the side, but that the action of the water had rolled this partially away, exposing the break. Some two hours were spent in cutting this mat away. The break was abreast of the engine room, or the thwartship coal bunker. The ship was dented in for an area of about 12 to 16 feet and about 3 to 4 feet deep. The tie plates had been torn off and several open holes made. Two of these holes were about 18 inches square and one about 4 feet square.
    At this time 1, 2, 3, and 4 holds were still dry; No. 5 at sea level; the engine and boiler rooms were sea level; No. 6 was a little below sea level; No. 7 considerably below sea level; No. 8 nearly dry; and No. 9 a small amount of water.
    The divers worked till about 2 o’clock of the morning of the 13th, and went to work again at 7 o’clock a. m., continuing until about 10 o’clock on the morning of the 14th. An attempt was first made to patch the breaks with wooden patches made of 2-inch plank padded with 6-inch canvas bored through for threaded bolts. Carpenters Avere put to work on these patches according to dimensions and divers proceeded to attempt to place them. These divers Avere lowered under water at the side of the ship by means of a stage loaded with chains doAvn by lines from the side of the ship. A lieaA'y ground SAvell, however, was running and this caused the stage to sAving fore and aft 6 to 7 feet each way from center. This swinging would have made it practically impossible for the dn-ers to fasten the patches in this manner under three days’ time. In the afternoon of the 13th, it becoming apparent that the vessel was sinking rapidly in the sand, a more expeditious, although more temporary, repair became necessary. Thereupon the holes were plugged with mattresses, blankets, and oakum. This plugging Avas accomplished by running a line through the hole on the inside of the ship to the diver on the outside, who Avould thereupon tie the mattress and blanket to the line, and the same would be pulled up against the ship by the workmen on the inside. This arrangement served as a 'valve, so that when a wave receded and water pressed against the mattress from the inside of the ship, such water could flow out; but when the next wave come it pressed the mattress back against the side of the ship, so that no more water could enter.
    
      VI. During the 13th additional pumps and boilers were placed on the Graf Waldersee. In all, 17 pumps were installed with a combined capacity of 4,245 tons per hour. Pumping was continuous and the divers continued their work in plugging up the breaks in the side till about 11 p. m. that evening, and also with the assistance of the steamer’s crew plaintiff’s men were likewise engaged in stopping up toilets and scuppers. The purpose of this was to prevent the flooding of the ober or upper deck through these openings, which, if not plugged, would have allowed water to flow in large quantities from the sea onto that deck as soon as the water had risen to such height, and thence would have flowed down all hatches into the various holds and compartments. The water in No. 5 hold, the engine room and fire room, and Nos. 6 and 7 holds had been lowered someivhat.
    On the 14th pumping was still being continued and divers continued making repairs to the breaks in the side. At 9.45 a. m. of that day the Rescue placed a towline on the bow of the Graf Waldersee and the Government tug Fulton attached itself ahead of the Rescue, and pulling started at 10 a. m., the Chaprrum Brothers, Relief, and Resolute assisting. At 11.50 a. m. the steamer’s bow was swung offshore slowly. At 1 p. m. she was headed southeast. Pumping was still continued, the water was getting lower, and at 3.15 p. m. she floated.
    One Government tug took the barge Chittenden back to New York while the remaining vessels of the plaintiff, assisted by several Government tugs, towed the Graf Wod-der see into New York Harbor, a distance of about 20 miles, arriving off quarantine (New York City) at 8.50 p. m., at which time the tug Resol/ute let go her hawser. The Rescue, Relief, and Ohapmom Brothers, assisted by the Government tugs, anchored the steamer off Bay Bidge at 9.30 p. m. The Rescue left about 10.45 p. m. for Norfolk, arriving at 5.30 a. m. the 16th. The steamers Relief, Resolute, and G'hapmam, Brothers stood by the Graf Waldersee, furnishing her with steam and electric lights.
    During the entire time of towage, and for two or three days thereafter, the plaintiff was operating its pumps to keep down the water in the ship. The plaintiff’s superintendents, wreckers, divers, etc., also kept watch on the patches, on the mattresses, and other material which had been inserted in the holes, replacing it as required.
    On the 15th divers were at work putting on wooden patches in place of the temporary plugs, and the barge Chittenden and the steamer Ghcapman Brothers removed the gear forward and the Belief removed the gear aft. A 6-inch duplex pump was still worked at intervals in the holds, and the pump was also working continuously in the engine room. The Resolute left the Graf Waldersee at 2.50 p. m. this date.
    Similar work was done on the 16th, on which date, at 11.20 a. m., the steamer Belief left the Graf Waldersee for Stapleton, Staten Island. At 4.40 p. m. the Ghapmcm Brothers, assisted by Government tugs, took the Graf Wdl-dersee to Fifty-eighth Street, Brooklyn, N. Y.. At 5.50 the Chapman Brothers still continued to furnish steam and electric lights, and a workman was on watch with the pumps.
    On the 17th the Ghapmcm Brothers continued removing wrecking material and the barge Chittenden was engaged in loading supplies at the end of the pier. Divers were still engaged in keeping watch over the condition of the patches. The Chapman Brothers and the barge left the Graf Walder-see at 2 p. m., arriving at Stapleton, Staten Island, at 2.40, immediately starting to discharge their wrecking material, and finished same at 6 p. m.
    On the 18th and 19th a diver and diving boat was maintained at the side of the Graf Waldersee for the purpose of protecting the patches against the possibility of damage. She was placed on dry dock on the afternoon of the 19th.
    VII. The plaintiff, through its officials, was in sole charge of the work of salvaging the Graf Waldersee. The measures adopted were decided upon and carried out by the plaintiff and its men. Some assistance was also rendered by the crew of the Graf Waldersee when requested by the plaintiff’s representatives.
    VIII. The Relief was 184 feet in length, 30 feet beam, 20 feet deep, 1,600 to 1,800 indicated horsepower, and built of steel with a double bottom. Her gross tonnage was 828 and net 563, and her value was $300,000.
    
      The Rescue was 165 feet in length, 34 feet beam, and 17 feet deep. She was a wooden vessel of 1,300 horsepower, and her value was $90,000.
    The Resokite was 142 feet in length, 30 feet beam, and 17 feet deep, and had a gross tonnage of 453 and a net tonnage of 219. She was built of steel with part single and part double bottom and of 1,000 horsepower. Her value was $210,000.
    The Chapman Brothers was 135 feet in length, 35 feet beam, and 12 feet deep, and was a steel steamer of 900 horsepower with 472 gross and 321 net tonnage. Her value was $195,000.
    The barge Chittenden was 128 feet in length, 27 feet beam, 8.7 feet deep. She was made of wood and contained two derricks, one capable of 5 tons and the other 10 tons capacity, and also contained hoister and boiler for operating. Her gross tonnage was 235 and net tonnage 186, and her value was $12,500.
    Two other boats used by the plaintiff in its salvage operations on the Graf Walder see were modern ones, were called the Chaser and Cruiser, and w’ere valued at $33,000 and $5,800, respectively. These two were small wooden boats used for dispatch and carrying gear. The Chaser was built in 1918 and had an 80-horsepower gas engine and was fitted with a mast and boom. The Cruiser was 40 feet long and was built in 1917.
    In the year 1918 the Relief, the Rescue, the Resolute, and the Chittenden, together with a large amount of salvage and wrecking gear owned by the plaintiff, were taken over by the United States Navy for use in connection with the war. On May 15, 1919, said vessels, together with a large amount of wrecking gear, were returned by the Government to the plaintiff under an agreement dated May 9, 1919, between the plaintiff and the Government whereby the United States sold and delivered to the plaintiff and the plaintiff purchased from the United States the said vessels and the said salvage and wrecking gear, together with some other gear which had been acquired by the Navy from other sources, and whereby provisions were made for the determination of the sum to be paid by the Government for the taking over of the said vessels and other property and the sum to be paid by the plaintiff for their repurchase, together with some salvage gear which had been acquired by the Navy from other sources.
    At the time of the salvage operations herein referred to title to and possession of said vessels and other property were in the plaintiff pursuant to said agreement, and were being used and operated by it at its own expense in the conduct of its business, and at its own risk in regard to loss or damage, subject only to the immediate reversion of title to and the vesting of title in the United States and the transfer of possession to the Navy Department within 60 days after the failure of the parties to agree on the purchase price, or after the failure of the plaintiff to adjust accounts in the manner provided by the contract. Thereafter two other agreements, dated August 5, 1920, and Feb-ruaiy 28, 1921, were entered into between the plaintiff, the T. A. Scott Co., and the Government, containing further provisions for the determination of the sum to be paid by the Government for the taking of said property and of the sum to be paid by plaintiff for its repurchase. Certain differences having arisen between the parties with respect to these contracts which were the subject of litigation in this court in C-713, said differences were on October 17, 1925, composed and settled and all sums due to the United States and to the Navy Department under said contracts, as adjusted by said settlement, were paid on said date.
    Of the wrecking gear used by the plaintiff in the salvage operations hereinafter referred to, a part was throughout owned by said plaintiff, and the remainder, which had been i'eturned to the plaintiff by the Navy as above stated, was in possession of the plaintiff pursuant to said agreements and was being used by it as aforesaid.
    IX. The steamship Relief carried gear to the value of $61,994.44, the barge Chittenden to the value of $30,929.02, the Chapman Brothers to the value of $13,055.40, the Rescue to the value of $35,680.12, and the Resolute to the value of $34,918.04.
    During the operations the Relief worked 14 days 14% hours; the Resolute, 3 days 12 hours; the Chapman Brothers, 5 days 2 hours; the Rescue, 3 days 10 hours; and the barge Chittenden, 5 days 14 hours.
    The plaintiff also employed on said work its general salvage superintendent, 3 other wrecking masters, a force of 7 foremen, 17 pump engineers, 4 carpenters, 4 divers, 4 divers’ tenders, 57 wreckers, and 2 timekeepers, in addition to the crews of its vessel, which numbered about 88 men. The total number of the plaintiff’s men employed on the work was about 186.
    The cost of the operations has been shown by the plaintiff under the following classifications: For use of the various boats, $4,954.34; damages to boats, $2,066.28; labor, $5,039.51; materials completely used, $727.10; material used on the boats Chapman Brothers, Resolute, and Relief, hawser, etc., $2,425.63; material destroyed, $514.10; or a total of $15,.-726.96.
    During all the time of the salvage operation the sea was especially fine, and, with the exception of the ground swell, which hindered the divers in their operations, the elements caused no embarrassment to the plaintiff in its salvage work.
    The rendering of the said services involved risk to the plaintiff of the loss of the gear of the value of about $75,000, which it had on board the Graf Walder see, if the vessel sank into the sand so that water came over her decks or if the sea rose enough to wash over the decks. There was also risk to the plaintiff’s vessels because of the necessity of lying close alongside the Graf Waldersee, which was much more heavily built than the wrecking vessels, so that there was danger that the wrecking vessels might be seriously damaged by being thrown against the steamship’s sides. Damage of this sort occurred during the towage to the extent of about $2,000 in the case of the Relie.f. Damage was also sustained by the Resolute and by the Chittenden, various lines were broken, and some damage done to the plaintiff’s wrecking gear.
    X. The cost of repairing the damage to the Graf Walder-see which was sustained in consequence of the collision and the grounding was $81,814.39. Her salved value was therefore $1,418,185.61. The value of the coal on board the Graf Waldersee which was saved was $25,808. The value of the supplies, provisions, and baggage on board the Graf Walder-see is not established by the evidence.
    XI. The services of the plaintiff described above were rendered without express contract on the basis of compensation usual in salvage, namely, that there would be no compensation unless the salvage services were successful, and that, if successful, the amount of the plaintiff’s compensation should be determined according to the principles usually applied in salvage cases.
    XII. The plaintiff presented a claim for compensation for said services to the Government through the War Department and the Navy Department. The Navy Department advised the plaintiff that the War Department, not the Navy Department, was liable therefor; the War Department advised the plaintiff that it was not authorized or empowered to settle the claim, and that it must be presented to the Court of Claims.
    No compensation has been paid to the plaintiff on account of this claim.
    XIII. The reasonable value of the salvage services rendered by the plaintiff was $92,500.
    The court decided that plaintiff was entitled to recover.
   Booth, Judge,

delivered the opinion of the court:

The plaintiff, a West Virginia corporation engaged in rendering salvage service, sues for an award for such services rendered to the steamship Graf Waldersee. The plaintiff maintains a large fleet of steamers, derricks, tenders, and other necessary and rpodern equipment for the sole purpose of salvaging distressed and stranded vessels. The personnel of its organization is complete and efficient. In order to be within easy access, two stations have been established, one at New York and the other at Norfolk, Va., the plaintiff being enabled to perform both harbor and offshore service.

The steamer Graf Waldersee was an ex-German vessel. She was in the possession of and operated by the United States under an international arrangement between the allied and associated powers, Germany, and the United States. At the time of the accident here involved she was engaged in transport service under the direction of the War Department. and manned by officers and crew of the United States Navy under the direction of the Navy Department.

On June 11, 1919, the Graf Waildersee was en route to Brest, France, from New York. There were 600 people on board, 40 officers, 550 men, and 10 passengers, as well as 3,200 tons of coal and about 1,500 tons of provisions. She carried no other cargo, the voyage being destined for the transport of American troojrs from abroad to the United States. At a point about 25 miles from Ambrose Lightship, in latitude 42 degrees 17 minutes north and longitude 73 degrees 18 minutes west, the steamer Bodondo, during a fog, ran into her, striking her on her port side about 350 feet from the bow. The collision occurred at 10.59 o’clock p. m. The collision was a serious one. The damage occasioned by the Bodondo threatened the safety of the Graf Waldersee and her crew. The immediate danger was in fact so imminent that at 11.02 p. m. S O S calls were dispatched, 10 of the ship’s lifeboats had been lowered, and all nonserviceable members of the crew and passengers had been lined up in readiness to go to the lifeboats.

The area of the Graf Walder see damaged was at the coal bunkers alongside the fireroom, and the fireroom was immediately filled with water to such an extent that within a comparatively short time steam pressure was reduced to the extent that the foghorn was barely audible at a distance of 500 feet. The vessel’s winches were without power and the lights were all out. Kadio transmission was available only through emergency sources, and, taken all in all, the situation was most critical. Designated members of the crew worked heroically in an effort toward temporary repairs; collision mats, tarpaulins, blankets, mattresses, hammocks, and all other available factors were employed in stuffing up the hole in an effort to save the ship. The steamer Patricia, a sister ship of the Graf W alder see, responded to the ship’s SOS and arrived alongside about 12.43 o’clock the following morning. At this moment nearly 100 of the ship’s crew and all passengers were in the lifeboats, and at 1.03 o’clock were taken aboard the Patricia, thus fully attesting the fact of imminent peril to the vessel itself.

Without going into infinite detail, we may observe at this point that despite the efforts of the crew, working steadily with the resources at hand, the water continued to advance, coming in first in one place and then another, until finally the commanders of the vessels reached a decision to tow the damaged ship to the nearest beach. At 3.20 a. m. the Patricia made fast two 8-inch hawsers and the towage started. About 7 o’clock in the morning the tugs Holtex and Margaret Sanford arrived; both took a line to Graf Waldersee and assisted in the towing. In the early morning hours of June 12, 1919, the plaintiff was requested, through the office of the commandant of the third naval district of New York, to go at once to the assistance of the Graf Waldersee. The plaintiff’s steamer Resolute, being immediately ready for service and fully equipped with both crew and wrecking appliances, put out from Stapleton, Staten Island, at 3 o’clock a. m. 'and arrived alongside the Graf Waldersee at 1.20 a. m. She was then in tow 22 miles southeast of Am-brose Lightship in 16 fathoms of water. Her engine room was full of water, with 18 feet of water in hold No. 5, 15 feet in hold No. 6, and 13 feet in hold No. 7.

The Resolute at once attached herself to the ship and placed on board her two 6-inch pumps and began pumping from 700 to 750 gallons of water a minute. At 9.30 a. m. the personal effects of the crew of Graf Waldersee were placed on board the Resolute, and at 10.20 a. m. the plaintiff added the towage service of the tug Jimo~ in the effort to reach a beach. At 10.45 a. m., after having been towed 22y2 miles, she was beached at a point 2 miles from the south shore of Long Island, near Long Beach. She lay with her head toward the beach, resting on a sandy bottom in 6% fathoms of water forward and 7 fathoms aft. The Patricia was unable to complete the beaching of the ship because of danger to herself. Beaching was accomplished by the ship’s own momentum, aided by the tugs. She dropped her own bow anchor; the Juno carried out her stern anchor and carried back the persons on board the Patricia to the ship, after which the Patricia continued on her way. The Resolute, from the inception to the completion of the towage, had pumped about 525 tons of water from hold No. 7, and checked the inflow into holds Nos. 6 and 7 by tying mattresses around the openings in ventilators. That this service was effective is demonstrated by the precarious condition of the ship when beached. She was obviously in dire distress and fortunate in reaching a shallow sea just when she did.

Following the beaching of the ship the plaintiff found it necessary to require assistance, and in response to a call therefor the plaintiff dispatched the wrecking barge Chit-tenden in tow of the steamer Chapman Brothers, both vessels reaching the wreck at about 7 p. m. of the 12th. On the morning of the 14th plaintiff’s steamers Rescue and Relief joined its fleet, the latter carrying the plaintiff’s superintendent of salvage, who immediately took charge of operations.

The findings disclose in detail what was thereafter done. It is not denied that the plaintiff, by employing all its immediate resources and through the instrumentality of powerful pumps and sea divers, succeeded finally in bringing about such a condition that about 3 o’clock p. m. the Graf ~Wol-der see was afloat, and thereafter towed by the plaintiff’s and Government’s vessels until finally placed on dry dock on the afternoon of June 19. It is fairly conceded by the defendant that the services rendered by the plaintiff were substantial and performed expeditiously, and while the assertion is made that the dangers of the situation were more potential than real, the principal objection to a claimed award is a protest against its ascertainment upon a percentage basis.

The Graf Waldersee was a steel twin-screw steamship, •561.2 feet long, 62.2 feet in width, and 37.7 feet in depth. She was built in 1898 in Hamburg. Her gross tonnage was 13,193 and her net 8,375. She was easily worth $1,500,000. She was at the time of the accident especially available as a troopship, having been refitted for the purpose. The cost of repairing the damage done her totaled $81,814.39, and coal to the amount of $25,808 was saved. The value of plaintiff’s vessels and equipment employed in the service is accurately given in Findings VIII and IX, together with damages sustained, as well as the cost of operations.

Deducible from this record is the indisputable conclusion that the plaintiff is entitled to a most substantial award. The plaintiff’s vessel, the Resolute, responded promptly, and, while emergency measures of real merit had taken place prior to her arrival and the distressed ship was in tow, these facts in nowise discredit or seriously minimize the service of the plaintiff from its inception to the close of the successful salvage of the ship. The plaintiff was experienced in salvage service. Its crews, divers, and men were expert in the same. The stranded ship and its (crew, while efficiently cooperating with all the plaintiff did, nevertheless recognized the commanding importance of the plaintiff’s presence and yielded willing obedience to its adopted measures of obtaining relief. As said by the court in the case of the City of Worehester, 42 Fed. 916:

“An important element which enters into the determination of the amount due upon the libel in rem is the fact that each salvor is an owner of a valuable plant which is constantly ready for service and equipped with a crew which is constantly under pay. The calls for salvage service are occasional. The necessity of the expenditure for wages and repairs is continuous. The Gity of Worcester had the prompt benefit of a large plant, which was itself in some danger of injury.”

It is manifestly idle to hazard a prediction as to what might have happened if the plaintiff’s service had not been available. The salvage service was successful, the ship was saved, and the record is replete with facts which clearly disclose her perilous situation and imminent danger of total loss. Salvage awards are difficult to harmonize. The cases establish no uniform amount. In reaching conclusions the facts of the particular case invariably determine the sum. The established precedents point out the factors to be considered, viz: The value of the vessel and cargo salved, the perils and dangers of her situation when accepting service, the dangers incident to the performance of the service by the salvor, the value of the salvor’s outfit, the actual expense incurred by the salvor, and all other pertinent facts and circumstances connected with and incident to the situation involved. Salvage service, in so far as all the cases cited in the brief indicate, is not to be predicated upon a fixed percentage basis.

A service of this character involves an old and oft-repeated rule of including a sum over and above expense and profit sufficiently reasonable to encourage the service, and take into consideration the important fact that any award whatever depends absolutely upon success. When one is willing to hazard, as was done in this case, almost its complete organization and equipment upon the single factor of success, and finally succeeds as the primary agency in saving a vessel of substantial worth, the award to which it is entitled is, in our opinion, to be fixed at a sum commensurate with the actual work involved and the results accomplished.

The plaintiff contends for an award of $150,000. With this contention we disagree. It is, under the facts of the case, more than the record justifies; $92,500, we think, is sufficient. A careful analysis of the record does, in our opinion, sustain an award for this sum, and judgment will accordingly be awarded the plaintiff for $92,500. It is so ordered.

Moss, Judge; Graham, Judge; Hat, Judge; and Campbell, GMef Justice, concur.