Opinion ID: 2576177
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Repowering of the ALEUT PRINCESS and the Fire

Text: Norval and Barbara Nelson own and operate a fishing business based out of Juneau. [1] The F/V ALEUT PRINCESS was a seventy-eight-foot wooden boat and one of their two commercial fishing vessels. Cummins, Inc. manufactures marine engines and Cummins Northwest is a distributor for Cummins, Inc.'s products. We refer to Cummins, Inc. and Cummins Northwest collectively as Cummins except when context requires specificity. In July 2000 the ALEUT PRINCESS suffered an engine breakdown in the Lynn Canal area between Haines and Juneau. Norval Nelson chose to replace the main engine with one manufactured by Cummins, Inc. because he had a Cummins engine in his other vessel and liked its performance. He called his wife and asked her to look for a Cummins ad he had seen in a trade magazine. Barbara Nelson gave her husband the Cummins Northwest telephone number she found in an advertisement in Pacific Fishing. Norval Nelson testified that he called Cummins Northwest, explained to its representative that he wanted to repower his boat, and was told I sure can help you out. [2] He testified that the Cummins Northwest representative told him Petersburg's where you want to go and we can fix you up there. Norval Nelson also testified that he was told by the Cummins Northwest representative that Piston and Rudder, a marine repair shop in Petersburg, could put in the engine there for [him] and take care of [him] and get [him] back on the road. P & R is an authorized dealer for Cummins Northwest. Norval Nelson testified that the Cummins Northwest representative gave him the phone number for P & R. He testified that he had never heard of P & R before this conversation, that he called P & R and spoke with Mike Luhr, P & R's owner, about repowering the ALEUT PRINCESS, and that he gave Luhr the boat's specifications. Barbara Nelson testified that Luhr told her that he had the appropriate reduction gear in stock and that the repower could be completed by August 2000. The Nelsons had the ALEUT PRINCESS towed to P & R in Petersburg. Jason Luhr, Mike Luhr's nephew, testified that P & R removed the old engine and fuel system, installed a 600-horsepower Cummins KTA19 diesel engine, rebuilt the exhaust system, mounted and wired instrument panels, and installed coolant and plumbing. P & R also changed the main and return fuel lines, performed work on the hydraulic system, and installed a new reduction gear. P & R encountered multiple problems during the engine's installation and on subsequent sea trials. P & R was ready to release the ALEUT PRINCESS to Nelson's son on August 17, 2000. Barbara Nelson testified that her husband did not want the boat to leave P & R's control without a warranty. Norval Nelson testified that he telephoned Cummins Northwest to discuss the warranty. He claimed that he told Cummins Northwest of the problems P & R had during the sea trials and that Cummins Northwest told him that they could not provide a warranty until P & R completed a required installation form. Norval Nelson testified that he told his son to get written confirmation of a warranty from Luhr. Luhr faxed Barbara Nelson a note stating Scott Graf from Cummins is going to call Norval and verify warranty start date 8/16/00. The Nelsons received an invoice for $122,820.01 from P & R for the repower project. Barbara Nelson wrote a check for the full amount to Mike Luhr and P & R. Nelson's son left Petersburg for Juneau aboard the ALEUT PRINCESS on August 17, 2000. He and other crew members testified that the boat vibrated badly when they ran the new engine at 1400 revolutions per minute. Norval Nelson emailed Cummins about the vibration problem on August 18. Cummins called the Nelsons once but it was early in the morning and Barbara Nelson testified that she asked them to call back. Cummins never called back. On August 25 the Nelsons took the ALEUT PRINCESS to Angoon. Upon arrival, the boat was docked and the Cummins engine was shut down. Nelson testified that the only power source left running was a Detroit Diesel 271 auxiliary engine. Around midnight a bystander testified that he saw the ALEUT PRINCESS go real dim and then [go] bright twice. He checked on the boat, noticed smoke, and rang the siren. Nelson testified that by the time he arrived on the dock, the ALEUT PRINCESS was filled with smoke. He and his crew did not see flames on the exterior of the vessel or in the galley. The only flames they saw were in an area above and slightly forward of the still-running Detroit Diesel engine. One crew member testified that he looked into the engine room and saw flames. Nelson claimed that he was attempting to extinguish the fire when there was an explosion and he was forced to abandon the boat. The fire could not be stopped and the ALEUT PRINCESS had to be cut loose from the dock; it drifted away and eventually sank. Because the boat sank in water too deep for recovery, no physical evidence of the cause of the fire exists.