GAYNOR v. THE GLER. GAYNOR· and others v. THE GLER and Cargo. (Dil/trict Court, S. D. Ge<Jrgia, E. D. 1887.)
425
Where a tug provided with a steam pump for extinguishing tire is first to reach a burning vessel and pumps water in the hold for five hours, and ,he fire is finally extinguished by flooding, the tug is entitled to salvage. although larger pumps and the city fire eI).gines rendered greater service. (Syllabus by the Court.)
SALVAGE-SERVICES-BURNING VESSEL.
In Admiralty. Libel in rem. Salvage. J.J. Abrams, for libelant. GeorgeA. Mercer and .4.. Minis, Jr., for complainant. SPEER, J. On the eighth day of December, 1886, the Norwegian bark Gler was lying at her wharf in Savannah loading with. her cargo of cotton. .A large portion of the cargo had already been ing in value to about $43,000. The forward part of the hold hadbee.n thoroughly stowed and the cotton packed. At 6 o'clock in the afternoon a fire :broke out in that portion of the cargo; the alarm was instantly given, and the tug William C.Turner, belonging to the libelants, at that mOment was about to make fast to her wharf 100 feet from bark, cast of1', backed down opposite the bark, there being a lighter>or flat 20 feet wide intervening, and making fast the hose to her pump, the crew at once carried the hose on board the bark and very soon thereafter began to play upon the fire, and to throw water down in the hold of the vessel. The tug continued to pump without intermission, first into the after-hatchway (the booby hatch) and then into the main hatchway, for about 5 hours at the rate of 75 gallons a minute. At the time that the tug began to pump water on the fire, the fire department of Savannah re:;tched the Gler, and thenceforward played five large streams, each amounting according to the testimony to about 350 gallons a minute, and the tug Republic played four streams of the same size and for nearly as long. After a while, finding that the fire was not subdued, the mate in charge of the bark ordered her to be scuttled. Holes were bored by the carpenter one inch and a half thick on the water-liue, and she began then 'to fill very rapidly, and the water soon cO\Tered a large part of the cargo, but as yet the fire was not extinguished, and it swept up toward the starboard bulwarks, and the .firemen cut away the deck in order to reach it. After it was extinguished (which was not until the cargo had been entirely flooded) and after she was pumped out, it was found that the entire ceiling of the hold was very badly charred; that the foremast was scorched, and that very considerable damage had been done to the vessel and cargo. The tug brings her libel for salvage and it is resisted on the ground that she rendered no appreciable service in the extinguishment of the fire. It is. not probablE{ that the tug did render any very great service. Whatehe did render was meritorious, and was done with a very good
426
REPORTER.
will. Her crew was the first to come to the assistance of the distressed bark, and frqmthe permittedJo dOBo she pumped with all the power at her disposal upon the fire. The testimony is that she was well rigged for the purpose of extinguishing fires of this character. She had a good pump, which had been recently overhauled, with 70 feet of nose, and· she workedao hard during these five hours that she loosenedsome of her machinery and only stopped a moment for the purpose oftighteIiiiig the bolts she bad worked loose in the great speed with which the engine was running in' throwing water down in the hold of the burning bark. I think it is very evident that the services rendered by the tug were salvage services, but without any very great riEk or labor employed in effecting them, but ne'vertheless an allowance for them will properly exceed a mere remuneration pro opere et labore. Chief Justice MARSHALL, in T1uJBlairwiu,2 announces: "The of a veryample compensation for those services (one very much exceeding the mere risk encountered and labor employed in effecting them) iii intended as au inducement to render them, which it is for the pUblic interests,and for the general interests of humanity, to hold forth. It is peron ,any other principle, to account Satisfactorily for the very haps great differenge which is maq.e .between the retributi9u allowed for services at sea and onland; neither will a Mr calculation of the real hazard or labor bea fQundatioritor such a atiterence, nor will the benefit received always account fOr it." .' " :."i '
"Salvage is not a payment for mere work and labor; other considera·tiona arew be regarded. The general interest of navigation and the commerce of the country is to encourage exertion and to compensate risk and energy. It is true, on the 'other hand, that the court must guard against exorbitant demands and undue advantage ·being taken of· the distressed,butwherethesalvors act honestly and fairly they are to be liberally rewarded." The Hector, 3 Hagg. 95. Certainly this was honest service;·there was no higglinp; about it. The engineer sprang aboard the bark with the hose as soon as he could, and: cried, "Here is water; where do you wantH?" and the crew worked very earnestly. Now such proJUpt and willing service' as this must not be discouraged by the courts in·the.harbor of Savannah, or elsewhere. It must be encouraged. These tugs" rigged in this way for the purpose of extinguishing fire, are just ;as important for the shipping interests as the fire engines are to the eity. They contribute as much in saving losses to the people.and to insurance companies as do the fire-engines, and it iSa· part of the policy of the lawto,encourage those in charge of them. While it is not clear to my mind that the streain from the pump of the tug extinguished the it contributed ite full powers to that result. The fire was put out by no special skill on the part of the fire department, but simply by the volume of water pumped into the hold. Certainly the tug ,was pumping in water all the time. It wae an obstinate, dangerous fire,and while the fire department, might finallY have extinguished it; :had not the tug been there, by the gteat volume of water
THE ClTY OF AI,EXANDRIA.
427
in, yet it is probable that. it would have been extinguished after greater loss on the cargo and greater injury to the vessel. In this case I think the sum of $250 is a proper allowance for sa]vage,for the firemen. It is to be divided as follows: The master $2.5; the engineer $25; the assistant engineer $20; the deck-hand $10; the cook $10; and the rest to go to the owners of the tug. , I find' that the defendant shall pay the cost, and tbat the sum named shall be divided and apportioned between the cargo and the vessel in this proportion; that the cargo shall pay two-thirds, and the vessel onethird. I know that this is not in accordance with the proven value of the property saved, but I also feel that it is a fair presumption that this fire was occasioned by the negligence of the crew of the vessel, and for that reason it is held by the court that they shall pay a larger shl:\re than they would be held liable to pay if it was adjusted on the basis of $2,800, -for which the vessel was sold. I would 8.1so include the freight in this assessment if there had been any allegations or proof which would enable me to do so. Let the decree be framed accordingly.
THE DEEP
CITy
OF ALEXANDRIA. 1
SEA IIYDRAULIC
DREDGU1G
Co.
'V. THE
CITY' OF
ALEXANDRIA.
(Didtrict Court, S.
n. New
York. June 17,1887.)
COLUSION-TuGAND Tow AND STEAM-SHIP-LIABILITY.
The rule in.8turgis v. B01!(!f', 24 How. 110, that the tug is alone responsible for damages upon a collision between her tow and other vessels, is applicable only when the tow is wholly under the charge and control of the tug.
2. SAME-FoG-SIGNALS-INSPECTOR'S RULES. It is gross negligence in a tug, when taking a tow in afog across the harbor of New York, in such manner that outgoing vessels are on her starboard hand, neither to blow fog-signals, nor to give the three blasts that indicate a tow, under the supervising inspector's rule 10. 8. SAME-DuTY OF Tow. Under like circumstances, it is negligence in the tow sufficient to charge her with fault, if, though fitted with a whistle, and having the general direction of the tug, she does not use her own whistle to indicate her position, nor giveahy directions to the tug. when it is observed that. the tug is silent.· Reasonable signals of danger are obligatory in all dangerous situations. 4. SAME-LENGTH OF HAWSER-FOG-CALM SEA-FAffi-WAY. In a fog, with a calm sea, a towing hawser 400 to 600 feet in length is unnecessarily long and dangerous in crossing a fair-way; and if the length of the hawser is under the control of the tow, and accident results, the tow will be held jointly in fault. '5. SAME-STRAM-SHIP AND TOW-SPEED-APPROACIIING FOG-BANx-APPORTIONMENT-STATRMENT OF CASE.
The tug f... was taking the dredge Q. from Gedney's channel to Sandy Hook, on a hawser 400 to 600 feet long. Both were ina bank of sea-fog; by Edward G. 13enedict, Esq., of the New York bar.
1 Reported