Eriksen v. Pacific American Fisheries

81 F.2d 680, 1936 U.S. App. LEXIS 3523, 1936 A.M.C. 774
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
DecidedFebruary 3, 1936
DocketNo. 7785
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 81 F.2d 680 (Eriksen v. Pacific American Fisheries) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Eriksen v. Pacific American Fisheries, 81 F.2d 680, 1936 U.S. App. LEXIS 3523, 1936 A.M.C. 774 (9th Cir. 1936).

Opinion

GARRECHT, Circuit Judge.

This case arises out of a collision between the steamer Redwood and the halibut fishing vessel Sun-d’E, in which the Sun-d’E was rammed by the Redwood, opening a hole in her port bow, from which she filled with water and subsequently sank. The collision occurred in the waters of Grenville Channel, British Columbia, which is a link in the inland passage to Alaska. This channel is a long, straight, narrow body of water, running generally northwesterly and southeasterly; its southern end being approximately 500 nautical miles north of Seattle, Washington, and its northerly end being approximately 400 nautical miles south of Ketchikan, Alaska. It varies in width from one-fourth to one nautical mile and is forty-five or fifty miles in length. The collision happened at a spot between Lowe Inlet North Point Beacon on the north and Yolk Point on the south, the places named being landmarks on the channel. The channel was approximately one mile in width at the point of collision.

The Sun-d’E was sixty-seven feet in length and of fifty-four tons gross burden, the libelant Eriksen being the owner and master thereof. The Redwood is 226 feet in length and 1,793 tons gross burden, owned by appellee, and was under the command of Captain Jackson.

The trial court found (III) :

“That the said ‘Sun-d’E’ with said libelant as master, and a crew of eight, loaded with supplies and equipment, sailed from the Port of Seattle, Washington, for Cook’s Inlet on a fishing lay, and proceeding without incident to Grenville Channel, arrived off Yolk Point not less than one-half mile abeam, September 4, 1933, at 2:25 a. m., at which time she was proceeding at 8 knots per hour, which was her maximum speed. At this time her course was changed to W x N % N magnetic, and maintained to the time of collision hereinafter mentioned. About five minutes after such change of course she encountered thick fog, which continued until after said collision. Upon entering the log her speed was reduced to 4 knots per hour, which speed was maintained until 3:50 a. m. From the time the ‘Sun-d’E’ entered said fog, and until said collision, her regulation lights were in good order and condition and brightly burning, and she continued to sound at regular intervals the required fog signals. During said period the weather was calm, the sea smooth, and the tide strong ebb, the master was in the pilot house, a competent man was stationed at the wheel and another upon the forecastle head as lookout. After running upon said mentioned course for approximately five and a half miles, at 3:50 a. m. a steamer’s whistle was heard on the port bow, upon which the ‘Sun-d’E’s’ clutch was [682]*682immediately disengaged. At 3:53 a. m. a second whistle was heard, also upon the port bow. At 3:54 a. m. a third whistle was heard upon the port bow, upon which the ‘Sun-d’E’s’ clutch which had remained disengaged, was engaged and her engine put full astern. Approximately at the same time the said steamer ‘Redwood,’ fully and heavily loaded with passengers and cargo bound from Ketchikan to Bellingham, and whose fog signals had been previously heard as above stated, suddenly appeared through the fog on the ‘Sun-d’E’s’ port bow not more than three hundred feet distant,-moving at high speed, heading for the port side of the ‘Sun-d’E,’ and showing only her masthead light and foam on her bow, struck the ‘Sun-d’E’ on her port side just forward of the pilot house driving the ‘Redwood’s’ stem deeply into the ‘Sun-d’E’s’ deck and side, opening up a hole extending well below her water line, through which the ‘Sun-d’E’ immediately began to take water. The speed of the ‘Redwood’ was so great that she threw the ‘Sun-d’E’ over until the latter’s starboard rail was under water, and pushed the ‘Sun-d’E’s’ head around until she lay alongside the starboard side of the ‘Redwood’ and heading in the same direction, in which position she was mad,e fast to the ‘Redwood’ under the direction of the latter’s master and pilot. At this time the ‘Sun-d’E’ was in a sinking condition, and would have immediately sunk but for the lines by which she was made fast to the ‘Redwood.’ ”
“Approximately an hour and one-half thereafter the ‘Redwood,’ with the ‘Sun-d’E’ lashed alongside, the latter’s deck awash and filled with water, proceeded south-bound through the Channel, arriving off Warke Island about noon of said day and proceeded without stop to Jane Island, arriving there about 5:00 o’clock in the afternoon, and there made the ‘Sun-d’E’ further fast to the ‘Redwood’ by means of an additional line, and removed by hook from the stern of the ‘Sun-d’E’ 38 skates of fishing gear, made up, two dories, and certain other small items of fishing equipment. That thereafter the ‘Redwood,’ with the ‘Sun-d’E’ lashed alongside, proceeded into the waters of Milbank Sound. That while so proceeding in said Sound the lines making fast the ‘Sun-d’E’ to the ‘Redwood’ parted, upon which the ‘Sun-d’E’ sank and was wholly lost.”

The court further found that the Redwood encountered fog at approximately 2:06 a. m., the fog continuing to the time of collision, and that the Redwood proceeded at full speed (nine knots per hour) until within one minute of the collision; that the Sun-d’E, from the time of entering the channel, was proceeding on that side of the channel which lay on her starboard side; that the vess'els approached each other nearly head on, the Sun-d’E being slightly on the Redwuod’s port bow, the latter star-boarding three minutes and hard astarboarding one minute before the collision; that neither at the time of collision nor at any time during at least twenty minutes prior thereto did the Redwood have a competent lookout; that the Redwood for at least an hour before the collision had been proceeding approximately in midchannel, sometimes on the port side and sometimes on the starboard side of the channel; that the master of the Redwood went off watch at 12 o’clock midnight, retired to his berth and remained there until the collision; that while proceeding in said fog, the Redwood was in command of a mate and pilot who remained seated on a stool before an open window on the bridge.

The court also found that the Sun-d’E was built in 1927 and was in good order and condition, fully equipped, provisioned, supplied, and outfitted for a halibut fishing voyage in Alaskan waters; that she had at the time of the collision a reasonable market value of at least $12,000. It was further found that certain supplies, provisions, and fishing gear aboard, of the reasonable market value of $2,294.25, were lost by the sinking of the Sun-d’E.

It was found, too, that the Redwood suffered no damage as a result of the collision; and that, had the Sun-d’E immediately after the collision been at a place where permanent repairs might have been effected, such repairs could have been made for $5,000, but there was no place of permanent repair nearer than Puget Sound, and towage was reasonably worth $500.

The seamen on the Sun-d’E had certain personal articles aboard the ves.sel with them in their quarters at the time of the collision. None of these articles were saved and the seamen assigned their claims to the libelant, Eriksen. The court found that the seamen had no opportunity to remove their personal effects after the impact and that all personal effects were lost and that they had a reasonable market value to each seaman, the total amount being $1,220.97.

Another point, which • may be of importance, is that of the asserted request for [683]*683grounding of the Sun-d’E.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
81 F.2d 680, 1936 U.S. App. LEXIS 3523, 1936 A.M.C. 774, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/eriksen-v-pacific-american-fisheries-ca9-1936.