331 Wbenthe whistles were exchanged the pilot of the Intrepid knew Pl'ecisely alIthe facts and circumstances affecting the situation, whereas the pilot of the Jamaica. did not know them. It was the duty of the In'" trepidin that situation to hatre exercised corresponding care, and· to have reversed at once. Nothing uprevented her from- doing so. As the Jamaica failed in no duty, the blame of the collision must rest wholly upon the Intrepid. Decree for libelant, with costs.

THE MIDLAND.'

JENlCS It

al.

11. THE MIDLAND.

(DfItrict Court, 8. D. HelD Yor1c. November 1O,1811.)
CoLustOlf-JI'oe-DtlTY TO CoMB TO SUlQ).STILL Olf BII4lU1feWJlJITLWI-1':&Yle4'l'JON NIUB SHOB··

The freight and passena-er steam-boat J., when nearing New York in the Blld· son. river, ran into a fog 80 tbick that vellsels could not be !leen more than lOOt. distaDt, and thereupon ha).lled in towards shOre to keep in slgbt of tBe piers. ',rhe ferry-boat lL, bound from Fony-8econd street to Weebawken, followed her usual course, in thick .fog, of keeping the line of the New York sbore to Sixtieth st..,.\, Each vessel heard the whistles of tbe other near at hand, and botb stopped .thelr engines! but tbe J. did not reverse at aU, and the H. not until tbe other vessel W88 seen, WIthin 1110 feet, and too late to avoid collisiolL Held tbat, under tbe circum· stances the. naVigation of the boats near the sbore was not a fault, but in a denae fog, and with fog-signals sounding very near, and nearly ahead, it was the duty of each to come to a stand-still in the water, by reversing as soon as possible, until their respective positions were discovered. As each was in UUaresllectoba; ,eaWe with the same fault, the damages were divided.

In Admiralty. Suit for damage by collision. Hyland Zabriskie, for libelants. Aahbel Gteeu, (Herbert E. Kinney, ofcounsel,) for claimants.
BROWN, J. About 10 minutes past 9 in the morning of Maroh 13, 181}1, during a dense fog, the libelants' passenger and freight steamer

S. A. Jenks, bound from Sing Sing to New York,while navigating near the New York docks, came in collision, about 150 feet outside of the slip between Foriy-Fifthand -Forty-Sixth streets, Northriver, with the ferry-boat Midland, which a few minutes before had left her slip at Forty-Second street, bound for the old ferry lauding in Weehawken. It was clear wea.ther when the Jenks left Sing Sing, and continued so until she reached Ninety-Sixth street, New York, when fog set in.. Tho Jenks thereupon hauled in towards the shore, and reduced her speed to 5 or 6 miles per hour, find came down parallel with the piers, about 150 feet distant from them, as her officers esth:nate, and blowing her fogwhistle, as required. When she arrived off Forty-Niuth street one blast of the whistle was heard on her starboard bow. Her engines were there1Reported il Edward G.

Esq., of \he New York

bar.

832

DDERAL REPO:RTEB,

vol. 48.

upon stoppE!<J, and so remained until collision, without backing; and signals oJtwo blasts ofthe whistle were given. The Midland was soon seen thronghthe fog,estimated at only a little over 100 feet distant on the starboard side, coming at nearly right angles, and at considerable speed, as the Jenks' witnesses assert, until she struck with her stem the starboard side of the Jenks, running under her guard, and smashing through the iron plate below, beginning about 20 feet from her stem, a part and extending about 25 feet aft, bending the knees, and of the guard. The witnesses for the Jenks contend that for two or three minutes before collision their own headway had been entirely checked, and that the Jenks was re)11uining still, parallel with the line of the her slip, was pursuing her usual course shore. The Midland, on in thick fog, namely, to keep the line of the New York shore until she reached Sixtieth street. , Tlle tide was withjn two,Iiours of high water. Her pilot testifies that she was brought around to a course of east norththe shore; that he gave.fog-osignals, as reeast, parallel(with,t;he quired, and that the whistles of the Jenks were heard on his port bow, wherenpon>bisengine wM stopped; that a little 'afterwards the Jenks WAA ,Qp'.,.bis, port 1;)ow, his, course frolll'poi't to starboard .ta'considerable rate of'speed,heading'towardstheNew Yorkllhorej (blJ,t, was seeri, the Midlanl1 reversed, arid had got sta'rnway down rivel'before collision. ' Her witnesses almost,a11 agree with those of the .tenks that the:coHision waS at nearly right angles.' . There is , the usual contradiction in the testimony of the witnesses in tpis allowance for the prepossessi()n of the witnesses, the liability to Inistake in fog, and taking into account the testimony of disinterested 'witnesses, 'I have little doubt that the truth lies somewhat between the extreme claims of either side. It is not credible that the Midland was heading squarely towards ,the New: York shore. There was no reason for such a course, and it ifI denied. But, on leaving she had· got several hundred feet the river, and, the piers, as was her custom in fog, she had in order to 'see the line to· In the shore. Her course, as stated by the pilot, east liorth-east, parallel with the shore, but angling ,at least two and the shore; and I,havenodoupt that she was headed a Pltlfpoints at least thataz:p.ount towardll,the shore at the time when she was first' seen arid probably more. .All the outside witnesses, on the hand, that the was also towar\ls the at bme of the collISIOn. 'l'he two WhlSUes whlOh she repeatedly, Kave to tlie, .:M@and after hearing her fog-whistle Imported that IIhe '!puld on 'that side, ,Bnd Ibave, little .tha.t she was headed in &OP'ilt a c09Rle <;>f points. , The of the witnesses the qaor,eove,r, le,a,v,e,8110 dOU,bt,"tll,at, t,he M,ld,la".ndwas.ru"rth"e,X:,out III the nV,er tl1e tact ,that.the Jenks' whistles, and the Jenks were ,bot;h ,on the M:idlimd'sport bow, further proves, was heading considerably New y ) l .... shore, probably' 'much as four points, at the time of collision. He intention evidently was.to g9,b,etwEl\\IUhe the .&lQre., The ,l'q!1ure

or

oipe,r

!

as

THE MIDLAND;

333

break made through the iron plate of the Jenks, and the comparatively little damage or marks left upon the Jenks aft of that break, satisfy me that the blow was inflicted mainly by the forward motion of the Midland, rather than by the forward motion of the Jenks. But, while the Midland was moving towards the New York shore, she was also moving up river, both by the tide and by her own angle. As the tide was within two hours of high water, there must have been an upward current of at least two knots at the place of collision. The speed of the Jenks througb the water could not have been wholly stopped, because there was not sufficient time for this after her wheels had been stopped, without reversing them; and because, if she had been stopped, she would have been lllovingup river with the tide at the rate of at least two knots, and no one claims that she was moving up at all. It is that at the time of the collision she had about come to a stand-still by land. so that she was really moving through the water at the rate of about two knots. She was, therefore, not drifting, and consequently was not bound to ring her bell instead of sounding her fog-whistle. Immediately after the co!lWon, by which the head of the J euks had been knocked around to port, probabl'y 'a couple of points, she started up her engines, and into the slip between Forty-Fifth and FortySixth streets, aud" in doing so ran against the of the FortySixth street pier about 300 feet insideqf the slip, and made a considerable <lut in it, which left a mark showing an angle of about 45 degrees with the side oithe pier. Considering the special circumstances, I am not prepared to hold either vessel blamable as regards the general plan of navigation she passenger vessel; surprised by fog, adopted. The Jenks, a might lawfully, I think, make her way cautiously along the shore,and within sight of it. The ordinary duty to keep near the middle of the river was notapplicablej and, though other and swifter ferry-boats may be able to make directly fori the Jersey ferry-slips on a diagonal course, {The Orange,46 Fed. Rep. 411,) I cannot say that the practice of the Midland. whose full speed was only six or seven an hour, to h.old the New York shore until she got to Sixtieth street, before crossing; was unreasonable or blamable; so that forttirning towards the New Yprk flhore, in order to keep it in sight after leavi11g the slip, I clmtldt 'hold the Midlll,nd out Qf her or in fault. There only remains tliequestion of tllemanagement of each in such thick fog. when each was endeavoring to hold the New Yorkshor'e. The obligation to use adequate caution to avoid collision was incumbent on botbalike. The eviden,ce showed that' each was previdusly r'unnil.1g at only speed, and both stopped their engines when the signal 'of the other was heard. The Midland, however, did not reverse until the Jenks hove in sight,not 150 feet off, and that was too late to avOId running upon the J the latter was' going not directly towards her, but at nearly right' angles to her coul'se. She might and should have reversed when the Jenks' signahvasheilrd near, as ittilusthave beeri, and she should not h'aVedelayed 'revetaing, headed, as she evidently

834

REPORTER,vol.

48.

WaS,llcross the Jenks' course, until the Jenks came The Jenks is also chargeable with the same fault,iQ that she did not back at all, as she D.lighand should hll.vedone when, the signals were h,eardoff Forty-Ninth --'treet. She was then going at of five ()l' six kpots, at least, prob,ably 7 knots, through the water, lind at collision she w8slUoving through the wat.ar at the rate of atIeast two knots. In a fog 80 dense that vessels cannot be seen more than 1.50 feet ,d,istant, with fog-whistles sounding' so .near, it was the duty of both tQ(lome to a stand"still in the water as soon as possible, U:ltil their respectiveposHloos were discovered. The Britannic, 39 Fed. Rep. 395,,399, and cases thf're cited. As each in this respect is chargeable with the same fault, the damages and costs are apportioned. A deoree, with an Qrder 'of reference to coml'ute the damages, maybe prepared accordingly.

THE BOWAB» B. PEtKo

EN08'rROM 11. TaE '1l0WARD B. PEcJt.

L

,

CoLLJ8JON-VE88I1:L AT ANCHOR-FAILURB '1'0 SHOW TORCH.,'

. a ve886J, at all<;hor in the can see th,Il' Jighte of an approaching vessel, tbare is'no 8uppose that her own lights, pl'Operly set and burning brigh1llY.',cannot 'beaeen;and hence her failure to display a torch before the approacqf/lg vesSEll with her 18 not such a fault aswUl entitle the colliplng vesse1,confessedly In fault, to a division of. the damages.
TO SuiP'l'HIlLM;

:,

9.

EWf_FA1LIi:R&

The the 4nchored vessel, .whlch was lyinlf in a tide-way. to put her helm hard over the appeared imminent. lS not such a fault as to call for a diVision oHtie' damages, where it is \lot shown that to result from in the have carried her olear of the colsuch liding

In Admiralty· ()rilibel for collision. J. lA'f/,gdm libelant. Samuel fark, fol.' ,claimant. J. is a libel in 're7l';t the Howard, B. ?e.ck torec;over daIllages ,to the by a collision in HamptoJlJlolil,ds 00 Marcil, 26, 1891. The tha schooner filed Swedishbark.S.torckeri Roads, on its way: on 1891 Ilnchored in about in place collision curred., Qn' she wasanChQ/.'ed witha 8tarboard anchoralld M;, For four oa)'8,vf'!ssels bouod"nQrt,inyard had en;' and OIl ,2!>tp, thf:Jre an impending erlystorffi.; 'f!;te'll'lilld w8.#l E.::N.J!4"ipl1[)wing ,Th9 eveningwalJ (lloudy"with passing by withoutrain or fog, until
I

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