The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Legal Tips For Ship Owners and Officers Specially Compiled for The Marine Review By Harry Bowne Skillman Attorney at Law TO OHHiI,.II, FHVVUUttttMTTTntTT:T:xttxtTTnin:tttttttin ams in the case of BUENA VENTURA, 243 Federal Reporter 797, came on board the vessel in pursuance of a contract between her owners and the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Co. of America, under which contract he was required to sign the ship's articles, was classed as an officer, and messed with them; assistance, if any, of the wire- A WIRELESS operator, it appeared less apparatus operated by him was to bring to the Marconi company "a fair and reasonable proportion of salvage moneys" that might be awarded to the shipowners; and, finally, a part of his duty was to instruct. an officer of the ship in the art of sending messages by wireless apparatus. The operator did sign the articles, but purely as a formal- ity; his stated rate of wages was 25 cents per month, which was never col- lected; he received board and lodging. from the ship, and a regular stipend from the Marconi company; and, by an arrangement between himself and the captain, he operated the launch while in port, receiving therefor $15 a month. The court held that the operator, who was ill of iritis, fell ill "in the service of the ship', and is therefore entitled to maintenance and cure if he is to. be regarded as a seaman or a member of the crew. The court then held the operator to be a seaman, saying, 'The word 'seaman' undoubtedly once meant a person who could 'hand, reef and steer', a mariner in the true sense of the word. But as the necessities of ships increased, so the word 'seaman' enlarged its meaning." The operator, the court further held, was also a member of the crew, which is defined to be those 'persons who are on board the vessel aiding in her navigation, without refer- ence to the nature of the arrangement under which they are on board. ke The rule of law ordinarily is that the charterer of the vessel, even in the absence of an express agreement to unload with reasonable dispatch, im- pliedly agrees that the freight shall be unloaded without unreasonable delay and in conformity to the custom and usage of the port. "But this is not a hard and fast rule," it was decided in the case of Acme Transit Co. v. 133,000 Bushels of Wheat, 243 Federal Re- porter. 970, "and, when it appears that the charter party or bill of lading or contract of affreightment makes no specific allowance for damage or for any number of lay days for unloading, nor specifies a definite time to discharge, due regard must be given to the par- ticular circumstances contributing to the delay and legitimately bearing thereon." Kok ok In the case of Gutrport, 243 Federal Reporter 676, the meaning of the word "shore", as used in the law of salvage, was up for decision. Counsel cited numerous authorities to show that the word meant the space between high and low tide, and contended that, as the authorities speak of goods cast upon the shore being liable to salvage, if the thing be cast further upon the land than the ordinary high tide reaches, this is not on the shore, and 'therefore is not subject to salvage. The court, before deciding the point, said: '"Ad- miralty courts, while not striving to in- crease their jurisdiction, have never been given to technical or narrow construc- tion." It was then held that for salvage purposes, the word "shore" should be liberally defined, and, as so_ defined, should be that portion of the land lying between low-water mark and the point at which the water, whether by the natural flow of the tide, or by stress of. wind and waves, reaches. a ee A ship is "deficient" in men within the meaning of a contract providing that hire should be suspended for the time lost "by reason of a deficiency of men", it was decided in the case of the Can- ADIA, 241 Federal Reporter 233, where some of the crew drank to excess and became so unruly that help from shore had to be called in, delaying the voy- age two. days. . oe A wireless plant, aboard a vessel, was held in the case of MANCHIONEAL, 243 Federal Reporter 801, not to be "cargo", "freight", or "baggage", as those words have long been understood, the court saying that "The relation of wireless apparatus to the vessel upon which it - is installed is perhaps not easy to define in terms of historic law, because the - relation itself is so recent." The court further said, "The shipowner is not an insurer, but if, at termination of con- 'tract or employment, he is unable to return the apparatus through any fault of his own, both he and his ship are liable for affirmatively proved negli- gence." : + ee "The duty of the ship to the steve- dore," it was decided in Conley v. Con- solidation Coastwise Co., 242 Federal Reporter 591, "is to exercise the care of a reasonably prudent man in provid- ing a safe place for him to work; in keeping the premises, where he has a right to be, secure against danger to life and limb. This duty arises out of the necessity of the stevedore's services to the ship. The deck of the ship is not a highway; but it must be made reasonably safe for workmen who are invited to render services to the ship, and who are in the exercise of ordi- nary prudence." eas "It is the law of the sea that recov- ery may be had for wages, maintenance, and expenses of cure of a seaman in- jured on a vessel in the service of which 28 he is engaged. It is the uniform rule of admiralty that a seaman, injured in the service of a ship, is entitled to maintenance and cure, and wages at ° least to the end of the voyage, ir- respective of the question of negligence." --Sorensen v. Alaska Steamship Co., 243 Federal Reporter 280. * * * "The following elements are to be considered in determining the amount of a salvage award: (1) The labor of the salvor in rendering the salve service. (2) The promptitude, persistence, skill and energy displayed in saving the prop- erty. (3). The value of. the property emnployed by the salvors in rendering the: service, and the danger to which it was exposed. (4) The risk incurred by the salvors.. (5) The degree of danger: from which the vessel and cargo were rescued, and the value of the property." --Livietta, 242 Federal Reporter 195. . The same case also held that where, when a salving vessel approached a vessel which was'on fire at sea, no one of the latter vessel's officers or crew were aboard her, but were in life-boats alongside, and were there doubtless for the purpose of again going aboard; if it appeared feasible and safe, and of securing the services of other vessels to salve her, it cannot be said that the vessel had been abandoned, and was a derelict, so as to affect the amount of the salvage award. -- Ae ee _The performance of the double func- tion by the captain of a tug in charge of towing and docking operations and his presence as pilot for the steamer, in order that there might be a compli- ance with the statutes requiring the presence of a pilot upon the bridge of the steamer while navigating inland waters, did not render the steamer liable for those operations which were exclu- sively the actions of the towing agent, it was held in the case of Sretra, 243 Federal Reporter 216. * "*k 2 _ Laws of Florida, Chapter 6521, defin- ing the persons, firms, and corporations engaged in hazardous occupations, and among them "boating, when the boat is propelled by steam, gas, or electricity," is not violative of the fourteenth amend- ment of the constitution of the United States, as being an unreasonable classifi- cation, in that sailing vessels are not included.--MeErrimac, 242 Federal Re- porter 572. eo Re ON ; The case of Hispanta, 242 Federal Reporter 265, holds that the temporary jamming of steering gear, which was unavoidable, and was speedily corrected, and was not caused by any defect, nor by any negligence of the officers or crew of the vessel, did not constitute unseaworthiness, so as to render the vessel liable for damage to the cargo.