Opinion ID: 27770
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Forced Assistance

Text: 42 There is yet another reason why salvage is not available to the Coast Guard in the circumstances of this case. If the Coast Guard had asserted from the beginning that it was salving the CABOT, the Foundation, if it so desired, could have forestalled the attempt. Under the doctrine of salvage, an owner in possession of a vessel may refuse proffered help and thereby deny a salvage claim to the would-be salvor. 42 When the Coast Guard took the actions that it now attempts to describe as salvage operations, it announced specifically that it was taking them pursuant to statutes that give it broad authority to mitigate oil pollution threats, even unto seizing or destroying vessels. By forcing its assistance on the Foundation under authority of the statutes, thereby avoiding the possibility of denial of salvage by the Foundation, the Coast Guard destroyed any semblance of the hypothetical market for rescue services that the salvage doctrine is designed to replicate. 43 Having done so, in the process avoiding the possibility of denial of salvage by the ship owner, the Coast Guard cannot now be heard to claim the role of salvor.