Opinion ID: 3037265
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: the “special circumstances” exception

Text: Maritrans does not contest that its actions would violate Rules 8 and 13. Rather, Maritrans tries to fit within the special circumstances exception set forth in Rule 2 by emphasizing that no court has applied the overtaking rule to vessels that were operating in concert pursuant to maneuvers conducted under an agreed-upon plan. The district court, although criticizing Maritrans’ attempt to stretch the special circumstances exception, ultimately adopted this reasoning. [4] Rule 2(b) provides that “[i]n construing and complying with these Rules due regard shall be had to all dangers of navigation and collision and to any special circumstances, including the limitations of the vessels involved, which may make a departure from these Rules necessary to avoid immediate danger.” The question is whether such special circumstances are limited to those involving immediate danger, or include circumstances that are “special” in a more generic sense. The district court found, and Maritrans argues on appeal, that “courts have either expanded the scope of Rule 2(b)’s special circumstances or have created a wholly separate category of special circumstances involving vessels operating in concert and pursuant to agreed maneuvers.” We disagree on both counts. [5] The plain language of the statute is our starting point. See Robinson v. Shell Oil Co., 519 U.S. 337, 340 (1997) (“Our first step in interpreting a statute is to determine whether the language at issue has a plain and unambiguous meaning . . . .”). By its terms, Rule 2 limits “special circumstance[s]” to those circumstances “which may make departure . . . necessary to avoid immediate danger.” In other words, vessels may justify departure from the COLREGS in order to 5132 CROWLEY MARINE SERVICES v. MARITRANS INC. avoid immediate danger, but not for more generic special circumstances.2 Cf. Dahlia Maritime Co., Ltd. v. M/S Nordic Challenger, 1993 WL 268413, at  n.2 (E.D. Louis. 1993) (applying Rule 2 where adherence to the COLREGS led to an “impending unavoidable collision”); In re Otal Investments, Ltd., 2006 WL 14512, at  (S.D.N.Y. 2006) (holding that Rule 2 “applies to facts ‘where there is an immediate danger, perfectly clear; and the departure from the rules must be no more than is necessary’ ”) (quoting Yang-Tsze Ins. Ass’n v. Furness, Withy & Co., 215 F. 859, 861-62 (2d Cir. 1914). This interpretation is echoed in one of the leading admiralty law treatises: “Courts, had they been so minded, could have sailed a whole armada of exceptions through the opening made by this Rule. Actually, it has been very narrowly construed, and will not excuse a violation of the plain mandate of the more specific Rules . . . .” Grant Gilmore & Charles L. Black, Jr., The Law of Admiralty 508 (2d ed. 1975). [6] Adhering to the plain meaning of the statute is particularly appropriate in this context. The COLREGS are strictly construed, to the extent that “[t]he general lawyer . . . must accustom himself to a far different atmosphere in dealing with these Rules, for they are strictly and literally construed, and compliance is insisted upon.” Gilmore & Black, The Law of Admiralty 489.3 The plain text of the COLREGS allows only 2 Our reading of the text of Rule 2 finds support in decisions applying Article 27 of the predecessor to the Inland Water Rules, the text of which is exactly the same as Rule 2. In Zim Israel Navigation Co., Ltd. v. S.S. American Press, 222 F. Supp. 947 (S.D.N.Y. 1963), the court noted that under Article 27, “[d]eparture from the statutory duty imposed upon the vessels is justified only when necessary to avoid immediate danger, and the burden of proof is upon the vessel which alleges justification for the departure.” Id. at 954 (internal citations omitted). 3 The long tradition of applying the rules strictly reflects their origins in earlier practice. See Belden v. Chase, 150 U.S. 674, 698-99 (1893) (describing the rules for preventing collisions, as they existed on the eve of the twentieth century, as “not mere prudential regulations, but binding enactments, obligatory from the time that the necessity for precaution begins” and insisting that they be “rigorously enforced”). CROWLEY MARINE SERVICES v. MARITRANS INC. 5133 one avenue to steer clear of their obligations: the “special circumstances” exception enshrined in Rule 2,4 which is limited to situations involving immediate danger. In reaching a contrary conclusion, the district court relied upon a series of cases, cited by Maritrans, holding that vessels operating in concert participate in a “special circumstance” within the meaning of Rule 2. These cases, which pre-date the current COLREGS by many decades, either reflect unique circumstances or (as noted by the district court) apply a relatively casual version of the special circumstances exception. Because these cases do not interpret Rule 2 and, in fact, conflict with the plain meaning of the current COLREGS, we decline to adopt their analysis. In The Joseph Vaccaro, 180 F. 272 (D.C. La., 1910), the court declined to apply “hard and fast rules as to overtaking or crossing” because it was difficult to ascertain which vessel was the overtaking or crossing vessel; indeed, in the facts submitted to the court, the two ships at issue seemed to alternate roles. Id. at 275. Although the collision in that case involved a steamship and a tug, the agreed maneuver (delivering a pilot to the steamship) had unmistakably ended at the time of the collision; both ships were continuing on their way with no prior agreement or concurrent communication regarding their operations in the close quarters of the South Pass of the Mississippi River. Id. at 273-74. 4 Courts have continued to apply an analogous in extremis doctrine that predates the COLREGS, and excuses violations of the rules where one vessel is placed in “extreme danger” by the faulty maneuvering of another vessel. Complaint of G&G Shipping Co., Ltd. of Anguilla v. The M/V “Nedlloyd VanNoort”, 767 F. Supp. 398, 407-08 (D.P.R. 1991) (quoting The Blue Jacket, 144 U.S. 371, 392 (1892)). While the relationship between the in extremis doctrine and the special circumstances exception in Rule 2 has not been resolved with utmost clarity, both rules allow a party to a collision to escape liability for violations of the applicable rules only when necessary to avoid an immediate danger. 5134 CROWLEY MARINE SERVICES v. MARITRANS INC. In The Paulsboro, 11 F.2d 625 (S.D.N.Y. 1925), the court refused to apply the overtaking rule where a tugboat and tank steamer collided while the tug was guiding the larger vessel into port. Id. at 626-27 (“[T]he two vessels cannot, in my opinion, be regarded as navigating independently, and the situation is one of special circumstances rather than that of an overtaking vessel.”). Noting the dearth of caselaw on point, the court relied on an earlier Second Circuit decision, The Monterey, 161 F. 95, 97 (2d Cir. 1908), that had reached a similar conclusion in refusing to apply presumptions of liability for violations of the “steering and sailing rules” (precursors of Part B of the current COLREGS, which are entitled “Steering and Sailing Rules”) when the vessels were engaged in an agreed maneuver. [7] To the extent that these cases hold that the cooperation between a tug boat and her charge is a “special circumstance,” either within or without Rule 2(b), that excuses neglect of the COLREGS, we decline to embrace their teaching. Scant evidence in cases predating the contemporary COLREGS by several decades cannot overcome both the plain language of Rule 2, which provides an exception to the other rules only when “necessary to avoid immediate danger,” and the overriding mandate to apply the COLREGS strictly. [8] This result does not lead to awkward consequences, as Maritrans would have us believe. The COLREGS prescribe a set of “rules of the road” for international navigable waters, ensuring that all vessels understand the same rules of engagement. There is no reason that these rules should not also apply to vessels under full sail in the Puget Sound, even those vessels operating in concert. As written, the COLREGS reflect numerous policy judgments that are not vitiated by the fact of agreed cooperation between two vessels. An examination of the facts of this case serve to illuminate this point. Maritrans argues that the Allegiance was supposed to overtake the tugs, and thus should not be held liable under CROWLEY MARINE SERVICES v. MARITRANS INC. 5135 the overtaking rule. But the COLREGS do not prohibit one vessel from overtaking another, they simply state that the overtaking vessel shall be responsible for avoiding the other. The policy behind this rule reflects realities of navigation, and is not changed by the fact that the overtaken vessel has agreed to be overtaken. For example, in commenting on an identical overtaking rule in the Inland Navigational Rules Act of 1980, a United States Senate report recognized “that the overtaking vessel should have less problem in keeping clear and avoiding collision than the vessel being overtaken, even if the overtaken vessel has agreed to allow the maneuver.” S. Rep. No. 96-979, at 12 (1980) as reprinted in 1980 U.S.C.C.A.N. 7068, 7079 (1980).5 Another example is perhaps even clearer—the district court diluted the application of Rule 8, which requires vessels to take action to prevent collision. A vessel perceiving such a risk of collision should not be released from the COLREG’s specific instructions to take precautionary measures simply because it is engaged in a predetermined maneuver.6 Cf. The Monterey, 161 F. at 97 (applying an exception for special circumstances, but noting that “[t]he vessels are co-operating in an agreed maneuver, and each is bound to act prudently toward the agreed end”). Maritrans’ theory is akin to standing on principle and insisting on the right of way even in the face of an imminent collision. 5 Although distinct from the COLREGS, the legislative history underlying the adoption of the Inland Navigational Rules is instructive in this case. In adopting the Inland Navigational Rules, Congress noted that “the bill attempts to make them as consistent as possible with the [COLREGS].” S. Rep. No. 96-979, at 1 (1980), as reprinted in 1980 U.S.C.C.A.N. 7068, 7068 (1980). 6 The maneuver situation is different than the judicially-recognized in extremis exception. Maritrans does not argue that the Allegiance’s violations of the COLREGS were taken in response to an immediate danger created by the Sea King. 5136 CROWLEY MARINE SERVICES v. MARITRANS INC. [9] Our analysis of the applicability of the COLREGS does not, of course, determine the ultimate allocation of liability in this case. Despite construction of the COLREGS, including the special circumstances exception, in accord with their plain meaning, the assignment of liability is not absolute. We leave to the district court to factor and weigh relative liability in a fault allocation analysis. See, e.g., Complaint of G & G Shipping Co., 767 F. Supp. at 412 (apportioning liability between the parties 80% and 20% upon finding several violations of the COLREGS on both sides); Hal Antillen N.V. v. Mount Ymitos MS, 147 F.3d 447, 451-52 (5th Cir. 1998) (upholding part of a district court decision apportioning minimal liability on the basis of a violation of Rule 5 because the violation had not been a proximate cause of the collision). The flexibility and adaptability of the apportionment concept explain why we are unswayed by the collection of policy arguments offered by Maritrans.7 The blameworthiness of each party’s conduct would ultimately depend not only on the rules that each party violated but on whether those violations actually caused the collision, considering all the facts of the case. See, e.g., Pennzoil Producing Co. v. Offshore Express, Inc., 943 F.2d 1465, 1472 (5th Cir. 1991) (recognizing that under The Pennsylvania and Reliable Transfer, an assessment of comparative fault must be based on all the facts of the case, not on a simple count of how many rules of navigation each vessel has violated). Therefore, the district court should consider the pre-arranged escort plan, along with all the other facts, when it apportions fault. It may well be that the Allegiance’s violation of Rule 8(e) contributed relatively little to the eventual collision in relation to the Sea King’s failure to adjust course and Captain Nekeferoff’s apparent loss of situa- 7 The Supreme Court explained that it established comparative fault liability in admiralty in order to bring “flexible and fair remedies in the law maritime.” Reliable Transfer Co., 421 U.S. at 409. It is this flexibility that allows a “ ‘just and equitable’ allocation of damages” proportional to the comparative degree of fault of each party. Id. at 411. CROWLEY MARINE SERVICES v. MARITRANS INC. 5137 tional awareness. However, neither is there any basis for concluding (on the other extreme) that such considerations bypass the COLREGS entirely. [10] The judgment of the district court is REVERSED, and this case is REMANDED for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.