Source: http://forensicsvirginia.com/cargill-inc-v-c-p-towing-co-inc.html
Timestamp: 2019-04-26 00:31:08+00:00

Document:
her engines, boilers, etc., in rem, Defendants.
Towing Co., Inc., Northeast Towing, Inc., & TUG RANDY D.
TOMMY E. MILLER, United States Magistrate.
argument on May 31, 1990.
capsized, righted itself, and eventually sank. Stipulation 6-7; Pl.Exh. 31.
as a result of such failure, Cargill suffered damages.
tow does not give rise to a presumption that the tug was at fault. Southgate v.
Eastern Transp. Co., 21 F.2d 47, 49 (4th Cir.1927); Eastern Tar Prods. Corp. v.
Chesapeake Oil Transport Co., 101 F.2d 30, 32, 1939 A.M.C. 58, 63 (4th Cir.1939).
proximately caused. The WHITE CITY, 285 U.S. at 202.
Co., 122 F.2d 141, 143, 1941 A.M.C. 1463, 1467 (5th Cir.1941); Simkins v. R.L.
skill as prudent navigators employ for the performance of similar services.” Id.
conditions which are to be reasonably anticipated.
A. Parks, The Law of Tug, Tow, and Pilotage 135 (1982) [hereinafter A. Parks].
any, should be taken to protect the tow. Id.; see International Salt Co., Inc.
Steamtug ALICE MORAN, 67 F.2d at 605, 1933 A.M.C. at 1630; see Eastern Tar Prods.
adopting rule for United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit).
characterized the wind as “favorable for the voyage.” Id., 1939 A.M.C. at 23.
allowed to him cannot be successfully disputed.” Id. at 974, 1939 A.M.C. at 25.
area 12 to 20 miles off the Shark River along the New Jersey coast. Id. at 2308.
void tanks. The master quickly removed the man for his own safety. Id. at 2310.
return immediately to port were within the master’s discretion. Id. at 2315.
resort, constituted a reasonable exercise of judgment under the circumstances.
Cir.1937), cert. denied, 302 U.S. 764 (1938).
Cir.1968); McLain Line, Inc. v. Reading Co., 53 F.Supp. 736, 738, 1944 A.M.C.
389 F.Supp. 77, 82 (S.D.N.Y.1975).
F.2d 304 (5th Cir.1968); S.C. Loveland Co., Inc., 100 F.2d at 973, 1939 A.M.C.
at 25; see Miller v. Cornell Steamboat Co., 1934 A.M.C. 444, 446 (E.D.N.Y.1934).
Barge Line, Inc., 522 F.Supp. 842, 848 (E.D.Mo.1981); Shebby Dredging Co., Inc.
128 F. 683, 684 (2d Cir.1904); Frederick Snare Corp. v. Moran Towing & Transp.
proper condition to be towed.” A. Parks at 213 (citing A.S. Wikstrom, Inc. v.
Creek Coal & Coke Co. v. Barge MAURICE R., 1933 A.M.C. 273, 280 (E.D.N.Y.1932)).
Triangle Cement Corp. v. The Towboats CINCINNATI AND TURECAMO BOYS, 1968 A.M.C.
would constitute negligence for the tug to attempt to proceed”).
one of “ordinary tug assistance”).
Marshals entered into a towage contract to tow the ship to its new anchorage.
prevented the ship’s bow from coming into contact with the yacht. Id.
the master was entitled to rely on the tow’s warranty that it was seaworthy.
“fulfill the engagement.” The WHITE CITY, 285 U.S. at 200.
(5th Cir.1971); Goodman v. 1973 26 Foot Trojan Vessel, Arkansas Registration No.
ship.” See infra s D (describing use of NF-103).
implied warranty of workmanlike service is subsumed by negligence principles.
negligence on the part of the operator of the tug”).
the Court rejects Cargill’s expansive interpretation of such a warranty.
manufacturer’s warranty of the soundness of its manufactured product.
Ryan, 350 U.S. at 133-34.
796 F.2d 776, 784 (5th Cir.1986).
change in the condition in which they are sold and that harm such a consumer.
tow. Foremost among these factors is the seaworthiness of the tow itself.
CONCORDIA TADJ, 718 F.2d 1022, 1029 (11th Cir.1983)).
application of an implied warranty of workmanlike service to a towage contract.
tug’s “expertise in conducting safe towing operations”).
freeboard or, conversely, a 2 foot draft. Stipulation 2-3; Pl.Exh. 28; Pl.Exh.
separated by watertight bulkheads. Trial III 275; FN10 see Pl.Exh. 28.
with the deck and were secured by twistlock mechanisms. Stipulation 3.
located approximately in the center of each tank. Stipulation 3; Pl.Exh. 28.
hopper had 8 hatch covers, numbered from the bow to the stern. Stipulation 3.
entry of waves and sea spray through the sides. Stipulation 3.
to arrange for any repairs of the NF-103. Trial II 187; Trial II 202-03.
and taking audiogauge readings of the barge.FN11 Trial II 203-04; see Pl.Exh.
Pl.Exh. 60. The side plates of the barge were also listed at .375 inches thick.
extended from .270 inches to .351 inches thick, averaging .3104 inches thick.
half of the starboard bottom plates averaged .101 inches less than .375 inches.
Bohlander the amount of repair work needed by the NF-103 and two other barges.
anticipated and that the estimate of repair work would cost more than $40,000.
‘Don’t let it go over $43,000.’ ” FN13 Trial II 124.
being a cancer that “just kept growing and growing and growing.” Trial II 220.
required Lyon Shipyard to stop work on the barge and to return her to Cargill.
NF-103 and found 7 holes in the exterior plating of the barge. Pl.Exh. 61.
Bradford further concluded that water remained in the void tanks. Pl.Exh. 61.
test because of Cargill’s demand that Lyon Shipyard return the barge. Pl.Exh.
holes that Lyon Shipyard had not found through visual inspection. See Pl.Exh.
the barge “should be checked daily for any signs of leakage or damage.” Def.Exh.
NF-103 was having. FN19 Pl.Exh. 56; Pl.Exh. 57.
that such continued use was both perilous and precarious. Id.
the NF-103 light from Cargill’s Norfolk facility to Cargill’s Seaford facility.
Tillett did not notice any problems with the NF-103. Trial I 153; Trial I 161.
she was further responsible for employees who loaded barges. Trial I 42-43.
grain via conveyer belt to a spout, which feeds the grain directly onto the barge.
retract it, to raise and lower it, and to pull it fore and aft. Trial I 44.
to starboard up to the edge of the coaming of the cargo hold. Trial I 45.
attached to the covers themselves through brackets that are welded to the railing.
On February 21, 1989, Cargill commenced loading the NF-103 with winter wheat.
then closed the rolling hatch covers to preserve the wheat from the rainwater.
to the top edge of the coaming was 5 feet 6 inches forward, 5 feet 2 inches aft.
109; contra Trial I 53.
Gouverneur would only check the manhole covers if she saw that they were loose.
*15 The RANDY D. was built in 1942 in Port Arthur, Texas. Pl.Exh. 40; Pl.Exh.
barge that the tug was towing on a 250 feet hawser. Trial III 20.
Diane Bandelean, Timothy O. Smith, Steven Mitchell, and Cecil Nelson. Pl.Exh. 6.
Bandelean served as mate, Trial I 75; Smith served as deckmate. Trial III 82.
deckmate, was responsible for handling lines on the barges that the RANDY D.
towed, which required him to walk along the deck of the barges. Trial III 85-86.
Nat G. Harrison Overseas Corp., 516 F.2d at 94; Massman Constr. Co., 462 F.Supp.
(5th Cir.1979); Dow Chemical Co., 428 F.Supp. at 971-72.
the RANDY D. next to the NF-102. Pl.Exh. 31; Trial III 6; Trial III 82.
to another dock and shifted the NF-102 into the loading berth at Cargill.
not to proceed because of inclement weather and stayed in Seaford overnight.
winds, the RANDY D. remained in Seaford for most of the day. Pl.Exh. 6; Pl.Exh.
accumulated approximately 8 to 9 inches of snow. Pl.Exh. 15.
gusting from the north at 25 to 30 knots and occasionally heavy snow. Pl.Exh.
from the northwest and the waves were expected to range from 2 to 3 feet.
west were anticipated at near 15 knots; waves were forecast at 1 to 2 feet.
crew of the RANDY D. to place the NF-103 on a 250 foot hawser. Stipulation 6.
the weather and the weather forecast. Trial III 10.
in height. Trial I 88.
The RANDY D. and the NF-103 reached Tangier Light at 4:45 a.m., February 25, 1989.
list, Bandelean did not report any other occurrences.
have slight lists are not uncommon and that a 2 to 4 inch list is not significant.
to do that. Trial I 159.
Trial III 114; Trial I 158.
the barge, the crew, or all three by turning back to investigate the list.
under the circumstances. S.C. Loveland Co., Inc., 100 F.2d at 974, 1939 A.M.C.
back to investigate cause of barge’s list was “clearly not negligent”).
above the water. Trial III 23.
the NF-103 was even lower in the starboard stern than she had been at 5:40 a.m.
approximately 5 to 6 knots to 3 to 3 1/2 knots. Trial III 25; Trial III 59.
allowed the barge less movement port to starboard.
Douglas did not have time to beach the barge, see Otto Candies, Inc., 1965 A.M.C.
ice. Trial III 101; see supra note 28 (discussing Dail’s northward journey).
Piankatank River. Stipulation 7; Pl.Exh. 8.
notice to mariners of the navigational hazard of the barge by placing a buoy.
2:00 p.m., at which time the bow of the barge remained out of the water. Pl.Exh.
warn mariners. Pl.Exh. 13; Pl.Exh. 14. The Coast Guard released the RANDY D.
at 4:00 p.m., which then set course for Norfolk, arriving at 9:00 p.m. Pl.Exh.
Service, Inc. to survey the wreck of the NF-103. Trial III 254; Pl.Exh. 16.
hold was completely empty of cargo and that all of the hatch covers were missing.
with compressed air and raised the stern with a derrick. Walling Dep. 10.
leaks in the area. Def.Exh. 58.
numerous holes throughout the hull plating. Walling Dep. 20-21; Walling Dep.
(relating poor condition of NF-103).
February 1989. Trial III 215; Trial III 229.
and of the manhole covers permitted the ingress of water into the void tanks.
III 128-70. Van Hemmen is an engineering and marine consultant with Francis A.
Aeronautics and Astronautics. Resume of Hendrik F. van Hemmen.
starboard and which caused the barge to list approximately 2 inches to starboard.
the void tanks through the rusty, non-watertight manhole covers. Cf. S.C.
would not have entered the cargo hold because the seas could not reach that high.
edge of the coaming was 5 feet 6 inches forward, 5 feet 2 inches aft.
barge on the starboard side, capsizing her. Trial III 144.
*22 Third, water entered the void tanks through holes in the plating of the hull.
arrived in Seaford, she had approximately 50 tons of water in the void tanks.
three conditions of unseaworthiness of the NF-103.
departing Seaford. S.C. Loveland Co., Inc., 100 F.2d at 974, 1939 A.M.C. at 26.
605, 1933 A.M.C. at 1630.
NF-103 was the unseaworthiness of the NF-103. The barge was rusting and leaky.
course of her journey south on the Nanticoke River and into the Chesapeake Bay.
the capsize and sinking of the NF-103.
copy of this Opinion and Order to all counsel of record.
responsible for the seaworthiness of that barge.” Id., 1939 A.M.C. at 24.
cause of the capsize and sinking of the NF-103, see infra ss C and G.
been applied to “dead tows.” Fairmont Shipping Corp., 511 F.2d at 1258.
rules that the scope of Fairmont Shipping Corp. is similarly limited.
FN9. In Tebbs, indemnification was at issue. Tebbs, 407 F.2d at 1057.
plates of the NF-103, which was the size of a pencil. Trial II 115.
the barge. Trial II 219.
Pl.Exh. 62 with Pl.Exh. 2.
doubler covers not only the hole, but also the steel around the hole.
Guard does not prefer use of doublers. Trial II 132.
particular test because of the wasted condition of the barge’s plating.
Trial II 211; see infra s C (describing condition of NF-103).
February 1989, which voyage was made without incident. Stipulation 4.
Distributing, Inc. v. Adolph Coors Co., 589 F.2d 176, 178 (5th Cir.1979).
for the barge would have been $100,000. Trial II 157.
observance of Washington’s Birthday. See Pl.Exh. 6; Pl.Exh. 32.
the witness, however, used the correct figures in her calculations.
when they have some drag in the stern. Trial III 6-7; Trial I 54.
reports to the Coast Guard of the accident, their credibility is suspect.
that the exclusion in the Coast Guard reports is inconsequential.
the manhole covers on the deck of the barge are not loose. Trial I 51-52.
could ensure the seaworthiness of its vessels.
NF-103. See Otto Candies, Inc., 1965 A.M.C. at 1034.
with updates approximately every four hours. Trial I 173; Trial II 38.
speeds at sea create larger waves than wind speeds in the Chesapeake Bay.
and the barge in this case are substantially larger than small crafts.
20 miles per hour was not negligent).
on the Chesapeake Bay from February 23, 1989 to February 25, 1989.
145; see infra s G (discussing cause of capsize and sinking of NF-103).
decided, therefore, to wait alongside the southern bank of Chapter Point.
was open; Smith closed the cover. Stipulation 7.
which was filed in open court on January 17, 1990.
from this type of manhole cover. Trial III 200.
constant ingress of water into the cargo hold from 12:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m.
infra (discussing displacement of laden barges in waves of certain heights).
find their opinions on the issue of causation to be reliable.
filed in open court on January 18, 1990.
and, for the purposes of this opinion, nonexistent.

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