Opinion ID: 391190
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: the maiden voyage

Text: 48 The QUEENY's maiden voyage was made in September of 1970 when, shortly after it was delivered, it traveled from Baltimore to Texas. On that voyage, the astern guardian valve malfunctioned when it either stuck or jammed in the closed position. When this happened, it became impossible for the steam to pass through to the astern turbine. 49 The valve usually is automatically operated by the limitorque motor a motor that provides torque to open or close it. This motor could not move the valve on the QUEENY's initial voyage. Each attempt to do so overloaded the electrical circuit and tripped the circuit breaker. The valve, however, was equipped with a handwheel that could be used to operate it manually. The QUEENY's first assistant engineer, Michael Breton, attempted to turn the handwheel after the malfunction. But he was unable to do so. Breton and Bethlehem's operating engineer, John Jensen, later were able to free the handwheel. They used a wrench (called a cheater) to give them extra leverage so as to apply excessive force to the handwheel to open the valve. 50 The instruction manual for the astern guardian valve observes that a cheater must never be used on the handwheel. Furthermore, it states as follows: 51 Excessive handwheel effort can indicate the following: 52 (1) improperly lubricated or damaged valve stem; (2) valve packing gland too tight; (3) improperly lubricated valve; (4) stem nut too tight on valve stem; (5) faulty or damaged valve parts. 53 Breton and Jensen, however, simply reset the limitorque circuitry to allow the valve to open and shut without further investigating what had caused the initial problem. 54 The QUEENY INTERESTS were informed of the problems with the valve on September 14, 1970, when the technical assistant to the vice president of Keystone, Samuel Spencer, sent an internal memo to Keystone's president, Adolph B. Kurz. Spencer also notified the Chief Guarantee Engineer, E. L. Insley, at Bethlehem, and Bethlehem listed the valve as an item for repair at the guarantee yard dry docking. 55 Bethlehem's guarantee agreement with Keystone required it to repair or replace any part or system on board the QUEENY that malfunctioned for reasons attributable to the builder. Vessel personnel were to notify both QUEENY management and the builder promptly when guarantee items needed to be repaired. Hence, on September 15, 1970, the day after Keystone learned that the astern guardian valve was sticking, it notified the proper Bethlehem representative of the problem. A Bethlehem Guarantee Engineer, Mr. McKendrick, met the QUEENY at her first northern port of call on September 20, 1970. On September 21, 1970, he reported that the valve was operating properly. At that time, therefore, Keystone had every reason to believe the valve was in working order because Bethlehem reported that it worked properly within only six days of notice of the problem. 56 The trial court held that the cause of the jamming and sticking of the valve in 1970 was not properly investigated, and that Keystone should have insisted on an inspection of the valve and turbine during the guarantee repair period. Yet, Keystone was told by the experts Bethlehem, the company which built the ship that the valve had been fixed, and for the next four-and-a-half years subsequent to this statement, it seemed to perform properly. Under these circumstances, the shipowner should not have been obligated to insist upon an inspection of the valve and turbine during the guarantee period. It makes no more sense to impose such a duty on a shipowner than it would to require a taxicab company to take a transmission apart on its new cab when the car's manufacturer had advised them that the new cab's transmission had been repaired and it worked properly after the original repair. 57 It is, of course, well settled that a shipowner has a duty to use reasonable means to acquire knowledge calculated to inform him of conditions likely to produce or contribute to unseaworthiness. He must create reasonable procedures for identifying the need for repairs, and relaying reports of ship conditions to shoreside management. See ARGENT, 1940, A.M.C. 508 (S.D.N.Y.1915). He must also enforce employee compliance with those procedures, The Pennsylvania v. Troop, 86 U.S. (19 Wall.) 125, 22 L.Ed. 148 (1873); Avera v. Florida Towing Corporation, 322 F.2d 155 (5th Cir. 1963). Finally, he must use those procedures to keep abreast of ship conditions. Spencer Kellog & Sons, Inc. v. Hicks, 285 U.S. 502, 52 S.Ct. 450, 76 L.Ed. 903 (1932); Complaint of Allied Towing Corp., 409 F.Supp. 180 (E.D.Va.1976), aff'd, 580 F.2d 792 (4th Cir. 1978). 58 In this light, in the instant case we hold, as a matter of law that the trial court erred because the record demonstrates that Keystone made every reasonable effort necessary to assure the valve was properly repaired.