610
nDEB.U. BEl'OIl.TEB,. vol.
53.
NO. DA.VJS T. 8ALT46J1l"':'BIUCAXU'iG
t.
FLOAT NO. 231 AND FLOA.T NO." HELL G4TB-PROBABILlTY Oll' DAHAGJIl.
(District Coilrt, 8. D. New York. January 15, 1893.) Where a tUgboat broke her shaft In gell Gate, and, for assistance, was tALken Intoqulet water by libelant's steamboat, the service last· I1ig about 20 minutes, it was held tMt In the stroJIg tideot Hell Gate the li!lbUity ot the tug to gOllshore, it unaided, was a danger, and that the service, renderlOd was therefore, a,salvage service, tor wbicb. $1,800, upon a .vlllue ot $46,000, shoUld be awarded.
BuUT IN
In Admiralty. Libel' by Charles W. Davis against, the steam tug Transfer No. 1 and Float No. 23 to recoTer salvage for assistance rendered to them by the Mary E. Gordon. Decree for libelant. George A.' Black, for libelant. ;" . Page & Taft" for claimants. BROWN" District, Judge. In the afternoon of :April 2, 1892, as the steamtng was going through Hell Gate against the ebb tide, with a loaded car float lashed to her port side, she became disabled by the bre!tking of her shaft, wh,en a little above the ferry, .whilegolug near the shore in the eddy, whieh there lets up towards Hallett's point.· She signaled for assistance, and the libeJant's smaJ.l freight and steamer Mary E. Gordon, which was a short distance below, aDd, on one of her trips from :Yew York W Mamaroneck, came up at ollcein re.'!ponse to the signals and threw lines to the tug and the float, and in about 20 minutes guided them into the still water below Flood rock between the two ebb currents, where the tug and float were taken in charge by a sister transfer of the claimants' line. Though the service was short, it was, I think, of considerable 1m. portl;l,nce. Had there been no danger either of stranding on Flood rock, or on Blackwell's, island, or of collision with other approaching vessels, there was little reason for the signals given by the tug for a service which, as must have been known, would be of a salvage character. Furthera.{lcident and loss were not indeed certain; but as the result could not be foreseen under the peculiar circumstances of that dangerous vicinity, the liability and danger of loss were certain. I am persuaded that in the eddy testified to by the claimants, as well as by the libelant's witnesses, the tug and float must have reached very near, if not quite, to the upper end of the eddy very near Hallett's point, before' they were worked out into the stream; and that they could not otherwise, considering the comparatively weak power of 'the Gordon for towing purposes, RIld the atrong ebb tide, have reached the point they did reach between the currents below Flood rock. The value of the tug, float, and contents was about $46,000; but the loss which might be reasonably anticipated from stranding would not in anj probability involve nearly 80 much. The value of t.h6l
!'BB flIRI'DI.
811
Mary E.GOrdon and her cargo was from '18,000 to '19,000. Her service made her late for the tide at Mamaroneck, and delayed her about eight or nine hours in reaching her dock; and the devia.tion increased her responsibilities by affecting her insurance. The service, however, was not one involving any great danger to herself, though she suffered some damage to her house. Taldng all the circumstances into account, I think that '1,800 will be a suitable award. A decree may be entered accordingly, with costs. I .
THE SIRIUS.
OEDROS ISLAND MIN. & MILl·. CO. (LOWE et al., Interveners) Y. THIll SIRIUS. (District Court. N. D. California. January 8, 1893.) No. 10,292-
I.
8ALVAGE-CoNTRAcr FOR TOWAGE-DURES8-AMOUXT OP COMPENSATION.
Ou a libel on contract for salvage services rendered by the steam schooner Tillamook to the steamer Sirius, the evidence showed that the Sirius, baving lost her propeller and part of ber shaft, was placed under such sail as she h.'ld, and, after drifting for three days, was anchored in a bay of an island off the coast of lower california; that she was in a dangerous position, as she eQuid not get an 01llng with ber smail sail power, and in case of a southerly gale might go ashore; that the master of the Tillamook, wblch came to her assistance, proposed either to tow her to San Diego for $20,000, or to furnish stores and gratuitously take an otllcer to San Diego to prccure assistance; that the original purpose of the master of the Sirius was to send to San Diego for nssistance; that he was positive his position was safe, and that he could get to sea before a southerly storm became dangerous; that he decided not to send an otllcer to San Diego, as he wished to avoid lengthening his voyage; that he clalnired that $20,000 for the towage services was unreasonable and exorbitant, and proposed either a reduction in the charge, or arbitration, or to leave the question to the owners to !Iettle; that his propositions were rejected by the master of the Tillamook, whose vessel, with its small engines, might become disabled or too greatly strained by towing the Sirius, whioh was much larger; that the negotiations occupied an hour and a half; that the oontract for the towage services at $20,000, contingent on success, was drawn by the purser of the Sirius, and subsequently signed by her master; and that the Tillamook was valued at $32,000, and the salved property at $143,539. Held, that the situation of the master of the Sirius did not force him into the agreement, and the contract was not made under duress; and that the compensation prOVided for the service, though high, was not so unrE:asonable in amount as to justify the court In setting the contraC1J aside as wholly inequitable and unjust. The Wellington, 48 Fed. Rep. 478, and The Agnes I. Grace, 51 Fed. Rep. 958, 2 C. C. A. 581, followed.
.. SAME-AppORTIONMENT.
The award of $20,000 under the contract was distributed among the . wvors by the court as follows: $13,250 to the charterers of the Tillamook, which was the principal factor In performing the salvage services, and assumed the risk of failure and disaster; $2,500 to the master of the TUlamook, who promptly procured additional stores for the Sirius, offered to go to San Di(,go at once for assistance, and undertook the towage servo ice against the protest of two of his passengers; and $4,250 to the other officers and crew of the v ssel,. according to their relations to the service pel'formed, their extra work, and their regular wagello