Opinion ID: 702549
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Nature of the Decision

Text: 12 The Fleet was established by Section 22 of the Merchant Ship Sales Act of 1946 to serve as a reserve fleet that could be activated to meet the United States' shipping requirements during national emergencies. 16 The Fleet and its RRF component consist of those vessels owned or acquired by the United States Government that the Secretary of Transportation, after consultation with the Secretary of the Navy, determines are of value for national defense purposes and that the Secretary of Transportation decides to place and maintain in the fleet. 17 Clearly, as is reflected in the language of the statute, the Merchant Ship Sales Act authorizes and requires the Secretary of Transportation to exercise his discretion in determining which vessels are to be included in the Fleet and its RRF component. Consequently, as the act of selecting or approving a particular ship for the Fleet or the RRF involves an element of judgment or choice, that act, standing alone, satisfies the first prong of the discretionary function exception standard. 13 Taking our analysis a step further and focusing on the act of equipping the bunks on the Cape Carthage with detachable sea rails, we note first that there are no statutes, regulations, policies, guidelines, or Maritime Administration (MARAD) standards that require sea rails to be attached permanently to the bunks on RRF vessels. 18 As there were no such specifications, it follows that the decisions regarding the design of the Cape Carthage's bunks and sea rails were within the discretion of the United States. Second, although unnecessary in light of the absence of a statutory mandate requiring permanently attached sea rails, our review of the history of the Cape Carthage further convinces us that the design for the bunks on board the vessel was a discretionary act for purposes of the exception. 14 The Cape Carthage was constructed in the 1960's by Lykes Brothers Steamship Company, Inc. (Lykes) under the Title V Construction Subsidy Program. 19 The subsidy program was enacted to (1) encourage ship owners to have their ships built by American labor and (2) ensure that the United States had an adequate merchant marine in times of national emergency. Eligibility under the program required Lykes to develop and construct a ship that satisfied MARAD standards. Lykes submitted specifications to build a C3-S-37c, the standard for a combination bulk and general cargo ship. This particular design included specifications for crew furniture that complied with the MARAD's furniture design standards, which were contained in two books of drawings of different designs of crew furniture. 15 Although the MARAD standards depicted bunk beds with detachable sea rails, shipbuilders were not required to build exact replicas of those designs. Shipbuilders could have submitted--and MARAD could have approved--designs that were equal to the MARAD standards, including bunks designed with permanently attached sea rails. In fact, at the time the Cape Carthage was built, there was a different bunk design that specified a very shallow bed pan which housed the mattress and required permanently attached sea rails. Even though this bunk design was considered too new and too expensive in the 1960's, it was both an option that the shipbuilder could have included in its specifications and an alternative design that MARAD would have approved. The record reveals, however, that detachable sea rails were--and still are--the standard in most United States and foreign ships; and even though these rails can be used as hand rails, they are installed primarily to protect the occupant from rolling and sliding out of the bunk during heavy weather. 16 Adhering to customary practice, Lykes submitted--and MARAD approved--plans to equip the Cape Carthage with detachable sea rails. In 1984, after conducting a joint survey of the Cape Carthage to ensure that it met MARAD's standards and was suitable for the Department of Defense's purposes, MARAD purchased the vessel from Lykes and assigned it to the RRF. As the decision to equip the vessel with detachable rails was optional--albeit standard practice and in compliance with MARAD's general standards--it follows that the decision was in fact a discretionary act.