232
FEDERAL REPORTER.
vious signal of two blasts, when the latter was out of the slip, or partly 'Out of it, did not of itself change any of the legal obligations of the Greenpoint, nor shift the burden of keeping out of the, under the old rules of navigation relating to harbors; nor did it relievE! the Grana Republic of her duty to keep out/of the way by her own maneuvers alone, nor guaranty the success of her maneuvers. City of Hartford, 11 Blatehf. 72; The Garden Oity, 19 Fed. ,Rep. 529, 531;. The Garrick, 20 Fed. Rep. 649; The Payne, Id;650. The inspector's rules as to whistles do not repeal or supersede the rules of navigationenacted' by congress,' and do not purport to do ao. Article 19 of the .new International Rules is not applicable to harbors in merely local navigation. See Act of March 3, 1885, preambleand section 2. 4. The duties of the Greenpoint were, first, to keep her course; and, 8econd, to do what she could to avoid collillionwhen the danger of it became apparent. The latter duty precisely the same, whether the previous assenting signals were of one blast or of two blasts. The Nereu8, 23 Fed. Rep. 456. 5. I. catinot find, upon theproofs"an,y satisfactory evidence of fauW in the Greenp.oint. She could not tell precisely what the Grand Republic do in her maneuvers. As soon, I think, as the danger of colwas lision wasl!-pparent, the Greenpoint stopped and reversed. She .did so as soon, I think, as could reasonably have been judged necessary, considering what the Grand Republiqatfirst would be presumed able to do. For a certain time the Greenpoint had a right to rely upon the ability of the' Grand Republic to do what she undertook to do, viz., go ahead without injury to the Greenpoint. Per BETTS, J., The Argus, Olcott, 313; The Baltic, 2 Ben. 98; The Ulster, 1 Mar. L .. Cas. 234; The Servia, 30 Fed. Rep. 502. . stopped very soon,. if not at once, after the first signal The of two whistles, and in a few secondsitfterwards she reversed. This was, I think, all that 'was reasonably reqUired of the tug, her captain not at first knowing just what the Greenpoint could do in turning. Her porting at the last was a wise maneuvet, and evidently' prevented greater damage. .. ., The libel must be dismissed, with costs.
THE GRATITUDE. 1 THE HART CoLLISION-VltllSELS MANEUVER. fl.
HENRY PRESTON.
Sr.
THE GRATITUDE and, another. IMPROPER
(Diltriot Oourt, S. D. New York. April 14, 1887.) IN Tow-HIGH WIND- UNMANAGEABLE Tow The tug G., having started out from a wharf in the East river in a high wind, with a heavy car-float in tow turned the float partly around before
lReported by Edward G. Benedict. Esq., of the New York bar.
THE" GRATlTUTE.
233
Jlroceeding st,ream. In this situa,tion she gave two, whistles to the tu,g P., which was cQming down river with libelant's schooner in tow. The G., inconsequence of her angling position, found hersilif un.able to back or to go ahead, lest 'either motion should swing the float against the schooner. Meanwhile the.high wind drifted the float into collision with libelant's schooner. Held, thatthe G. was in fault in taking the float out in, a wind so far into the river, when she could not control her; that she was further in fault in turning thefl'oat only partly around, instead of more nearly down liver, and thus getting into'it position where she could neither advance nor retreat; and that she was solely in fault for the collision, the other vessels not being able. to anticipate the G.'s movements.
In AdmiraJty. Goodrich) l)eady &; Goodrich, for libelant. Alexander & Ash, for the Gratitude. Wilcox, Adams &1 Macklin,' for the· Preston. after' the libelant's schooner, Joseph W. hi tow ofthetug Henry Preston, had got below the Brooklyn bridge, she 1lame, into. collisjonwith the bow 6fa railroad float in tow of the steamtug (irfititude; which struck her upon the starboard side, and inflicted Borne injury for which this libel was filed. Therailxoad float had been take'ri'outrroni ,the slip at pier 27, Eastriver,to)etowed down river. There was a high wind froIU the westward., Gratitude, having backed the floot out into the river,turned the ,float's bows partly, but DQt"wb.olly;, around, and thellmade fast on the flojJt's port side. While thus engaged. the Gratitude gave a signal of two whistles to the Preston b'efore the Preston had passed below thebridgc,towhich the Preston raplie<! with two blasts of her whistle, which, as both pilots understood, indicated ·thatthe Preston should keep ahead,and that the Gratitude should go under the stem qf the tug and tow. At that time there was least 300 feet difference iIi the lines of the courses of the two vessels. The Preston,. as I am satisfied upon the evidence, starboarded her wheel somewhat, inorder to port as much as was !;lafe, having reference to other vessels with tows which were cQmin,:!; up on the Brooklyn side. In this situation it was the duty of the Gratitude to keep her float away from the path of the schooner, which was in tow of the Preston, on a hawser. The cause of the collision, I have no doubt, was the very high wind that prevailed from the west,which, striking the large upper works of the car-float, drifted her more rapidly out in the river than was anticipated. !twas the duty of the Gratitude to provide against this contingency. She had no right to take such a float out into the stream to be blown by the wind in such, a thoroughfare against other vesse!s,Or in such a manner that she could not control the float's movements. The Gratitude was further in fault in that she did not, before making fast, turn the float's bows more nearly down the river. It was wholly in consequence of the float's angling position that, when she was seen to be drifting dangerously near to the line of the schooner's course, the Gratitude could neither go ah!jad nor back, lest in going ahead she should run into the schooner before she could swing to starboard, and by backing should, likewise unavoidably swing the float's bows farther to port, and thereby equally endanger the schooner. It was therefore a plain stop, with her float in fault of the Gratitude to go out in the river
The
at
234
that angling situation, where.shecould neither go nor back, as vessels. Neithef',the Preston nor the might. be 'required to schoener .could ha.vE! anticipated these circumstances, of the Gratitude and the float. No collision was in fact apprehended by them until the float nearlyupob. theschdoner. ldo not see that any tawt was justly the Preston, under such circumstances, chargeable llgainst the Gratitude, and the Preston disand a decree must be ' charged. . MCCABE and others tI.· OLD DOMINION STEAM-SHIP Co. (Di'WZot Oourt, D. Delawars. June"l.1887.) CoLLISION - BBTW)jlJllN STEAMER AND SAILING VESSEL LoOll;OlJ'r.' , . , . '.,' , IMHODBRATB BpBBD.
Jersey. durinl{ a densef9g, Qetween the steam.shiJ,> Seneca. outward bound on a S. t and the schooner William S:McCabe, inw.ard bound ona N. toN'. t The'S. was proceeding at the rate of above seven miles anb'bur,waa blOWing herfbg-whistle every minute. and had a proper lookout for;ward." ,The McO. was sailing at a speed of two and one-half or three how:. ana, had rio lookout forward. " Her mate stood on the forward pa'tfof tb'e 75 or 80 feet aft from the stem. from which point':theview forward:was Ullobstructed, and was engaged, in the triple duty of 10okPllt. the fog-horn. at intervals of a minute or minute and a half, aAd qf 'naVigating the vassel; The S/S fog-whistle was he'&rd on board the Mc'O.,:thr,ee or four m,inutes'p.riorto t,he coIl.iSiQ.n', but. th.e.latter's fog.horn:wllS not heard on the 6. T:b.e S. was sighted at from 800 to 400 yards ot!. Tlie:McC. was sjghtlld fr.om..the 8. aOOQt 800. feet away. The S. immediately ported her helm, and stopped and backed' her engines.. The master of the MoO. mistook the c'Oulse of the S., and starbClarde<! 'hlshelm, turning his vessel.across th" 8.'s, cour.se.The McC, was struck, between the forerigging and her starboard cat-head,and sank in a few minutes. Held, that the S.was'ln fault for proceeding at an immoderate'speed in a fog; but that the McO. was in faQlt for not having a properly statIOned lookout forward; and that the libelants having failed to prove that the absence of s.uch lookout did not contribute arid could .not have contributed to' the disaster, there mQst . be a decree for only half with costs, for the libelants.
In AdrniJ;al,ty. '
(fharles Gibbons, Jr., for <fc Gray, Prank D. Stu1'gis, and Bate8 <fc Hanington, for respond-
,
.
WALES, J. At'five minutes 6 o'clock, on the morning of the seventh of May, 1885, the three:-masted schooner William S. McCabe, while sailing from the Rappahannock river,' Virginia, to the port of New York, laden with a full cargo of grain, when about :three miles off the New Jersey coast, and a short distance south of the Scotland light-ship, came into collision with the steam-ship Seneca, belonging to the Old . Dominion Steam-Ship Company·. ;Theschooner Was struck somewhere betwp.en the fore-rigging and her'starboard cat-head" and sank in a few minutes. : The McCabe hailedfrbm Wilmington, Delaware; was 105 feet long, and 180 tOllS register. The Seneca was running Ollone of its regular trips from New York She is an iron built ship, 290 feet in length, of 2,700 ton:s register, and her engine, when fully developed,wiU tuh up to 2,200 horse-power. The owners of the schooner