American Whaling Co. v. United States

25 Cust. Ct. 18, 1950 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 4
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedJune 26, 1950
DocketC. D. 1256
StatusPublished

This text of 25 Cust. Ct. 18 (American Whaling Co. v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Customs Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
American Whaling Co. v. United States, 25 Cust. Ct. 18, 1950 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 4 (cusc 1950).

Opinion

Johnson, Judge:

This action arises by reason of the collector’s assessment of a duty of 50 per centum ad valorem under the provisions of section 466 of tbe Tariff Act of 1930, upon the cost of certain repairs to the whale factory Frango incurred dining a general overhauling customarily made after each whaling expedition in preparation for the next voyage. The plaintiff claims that the vessel is not documented under the laws of the United States to engage in the foreign or coasting trade, nor intended to be employed in such trade, and, therefore, it is excluded from the provisions of said section 466.

At the trial, the record in the case of United States v. Western Operating Corp., 35 C. C. P. A. 71, C. A. D. 373, which involved repairs made upon the whale factory Ulysses, was admitted in evidence and made a part of the record in this case.

Four witnesses testified herein on behalf of the plaintiff, i. e., Johannes Smith, the master of the Frango; Clifford N. Carver, vice president and operating manager of the plaintiff; Dominick Manfredi, ■connected with the Marine Division of the collector’s office; and James P. T. Kennedy, of the Monies and Accounts Division of the Custom House. George O’Shea, connected with the United States Administrative Office in charge of the Entrance and Clearance Section cf the Marine Division, testified for the Government. Johannes Smith also testified on behalf of the Government.

The documentary evidence comprises eight exhibits. Collective exhibit 1 consists of the export declaration of the shipper of 4,017 tons cf whale oil from the port of New York to Manchester, England, together with affidavits, outward foreign manifests, the oath of the master of the Frango on the clearance of the vessel from the port of New York, etc. Collective exhibit 2 pertains to the entrance and clearance papers of the Frango at the port of Baltimore, immediately prior to entering the port of New York. Collective exhibit 3 is the certificate of registry. Collective exhibit 4 is a copy of a declaration cf the master as to the repairs made upon the Frango. Exhibit 5 is the oath of office of the incorporated company, plaintiff herein, owner of the Frango since August 29, 1930. Exhibit 6 consists of an ownership oath on registry of the vessel, dated December 22, 1937, the registry being listed as “Temporary.” Exhibit 7 is a record of the Frango listing the service as “Whale Fisheries.” Exhibit 8 is a record ■sheet of foreign clearances, dated December 24, 1937, showing that the Frango was cleared for Manchester, England, and Sandefjord, Norway.

The record and evidence before the court discloses the following facts: The whale factory Frango is owned by the American Whaling 'Company, Inc., and all of its officers, directors, and stockholders are American citizens. The Frango was specially constructed for the sole [20]*20and specific purpose of engaging in the whale fishery, a service for which she was registered and was so engaged.

The Frango had been upon a whaling expedition to Western Australia immediately prior to the time the vessel entered the port of Baltimore early in December 1937, where the cargo of whale oil taken from whales caught upon that expedition was discharged, except for 6 tons of damaged low grade whale oil and 20 tons of sperm oil not salable in the United States, which were retained on board for discharge in Norway. When the vessel arrived at Baltimore, the crew consisted of the ship’s officers and operating members only, the whaler crew having been sent back to Sandefjord, Norway, from Capetown, South Africa.

Whaling expeditions always start and end in Norway. Upon the Frango’s return trip to Norway, in preparation of another voyage to the. whaling waters adjacent to Western Australia, the plaintiff contracted to carry 4,017 long tons of whale oil to Manchester, England, for the Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. of New York City. The president of the plaintiff corporation consulted with customs officials concerning the carriage of the oil to Manchester and received permission to transport the cargo. Consequently, the owner’s oath and the master’s oath of American cargo vessel clearing without passengers were filed. The certificate of registry numbered 54 issued at New York in 1930 was cancelled, and a new temporary registry numbered 124 was issued December 22, 1937. The service indicated therein was “Whale Fisheries.” The outward foreign manifest, issued December 24, 1937, indicated that there was cargo on board destined for Manchester, England. The record of foreign clearances discloses that the Frango cleared for Manchester and Sandefjord on Friday, December 24, 1937. After discharging its cargo of whale oil in Manchester, England, the vessel proceeded to Sandefjord, Norway, where it discharged the 6 tons of whale oil and 20 tons of sperm oil still on board from the prior whaling expedition.

The vessel then underwent the usual repairs after a whaling expedition to prepare it for another voyage. The repairs so made at that time were subjected to an assessment of duty of 50 per centum ad valorem, under section 466 1 of the Tariff Act of 1930, when the Frango again entered the port of New York in 1938, after having been upon another whaling expedition to Western Australian waters.

[21]*21Counsel for the plaintiff contends that repairs to vessels engaged in the fisheries, however documented, are not subject to duty; and that the Frango was not documented under the laws of the United States to engage in foreign trade. Counsel for the Government, on the other hand, contends that the Frango was not only intended to be, but actually was, employed in foreign trade and therefore comes within the provisions of section 466.

In the case of United States v. Western Operating Corp., supra, the appellate court pointed out that section 466 does not expressly provide for the assessment of duty upon the cost of equipment and repairs incurred in a foreign port by a registered vessel but that—

* * * The statute is specific to the cost of such items incurred in a foreign port by vessels documented under the laws of the United States to engage in the foreign or coasting trade, or a vessel intended to be employed in such trade.
* * * * * * *
Furthermore, no duty is assessed by the terms of the statute upon the cost of equipment and repairs incurred in a foreign port by a vessel documented under the laws of the United States to be employed “in the whale fisheries,” and appellant concedes in its brief that while vessels may be enrolled and licensed pursuant to law for both the coasting trade and the fisheries (46 U. S. C., sec. 263), vessels documented solely for the purpose of engaging in the fisheries are excluded from the provisions of section 466. [Italics not quoted.]

As to Government’s contention that, as the Frango was actually employed in foreign trade, the vessel comes within the provisions of section 466, the appellate court in the Western Operating Corp. case, supra, pointed out the following:

It clearly appears that the foreign trade and the whale fishery, from a legal standpoint and otherwise, are essentially different employments, and that

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Related

§ 251
46 U.S.C. § 251
§ 280
46 U.S.C. § 280

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
25 Cust. Ct. 18, 1950 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 4, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/american-whaling-co-v-united-states-cusc-1950.