The Iossifoglu

32 F.2d 928, 1929 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1251
CourtDistrict Court, D. Maryland
DecidedMay 29, 1929
DocketNo. 1445
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 32 F.2d 928 (The Iossifoglu) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Maryland primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
The Iossifoglu, 32 F.2d 928, 1929 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1251 (D. Md. 1929).

Opinion

SOPER, District Judge.

The Philippine National Bank is a Philippine corporation, having its principal office in Manila. It has a department called the Philippine Sugar Centrals Agency, through which it exports sugar from the Philippines, and also an agency in New York to attend to, and dispose of, the shipments. Usually the sugar is sent in cargo lote eastwardly through the Panama Canal to the east coast of the United States. In the year 1926 the bank handled 26 cargoes, and in previous years as many as 32 shipments.

On April 2, 1925, the owners of the British motor ship Iossifoglu chartered the vessel to the Philippine Sugar Centrals Agency to carry a full cargo of 7,500 tons of raw* sugar from one or two ports in the Philippine Islands to two ports on the United States Atlantic Coast between Cape Hatteras and Boston, as ordered at the Delaware Breakwater. The ship was then discharging at Vladivostok. Sailing from that port on April 16 she arrived at Ilo Ilo on May 1, and thence proceeded under charterer’s orders to Pulapandan, where she lay from May 3 to May 23, taking on her cargo-. On the last mentioned date she sailed for Honolulu. In ordinary course she should have reached her ultimate destination and discharged her cargo not later than August 1, 1925. Such a voyage takes from 46 to 66 days. As a matter of fact, the Iossifoglu did not reach the port of Philadelphia (to which she was ordered as she neared the Delaware Breakwater), until September 14, and was not completely discharged until September 19. In other words, the voyage lasted twice as long as was to have been expected; and this extraordinary delay is the foundation of the libelant’s case. It is claimed that the market price of sugar had fallen to such an extent by the time the vessel discharged her cargo that the bank suffered a loss of approximately $22,000, which would not have happened if the vessel had arrived on time.

The British corporation, Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson, limited, claimant and owner of the ship, does not deny that the voyage took approximately 50 days longer than might reasonably have been expected, but nevertheless denies liability on two broad grounds: First, it says that under the facts of the ease the ship is not liable for more than 27 days o-f the delay, and, since there was no drop in the market during this period, the libelant suffered no- loss thereby; and, second, it contends that, even if the entire delay may be charged to the ship, still there is no liability, because there was no drop in the market price until after September 14, when the ship arrived in the port of Philadelphia. It is conceded that the market fell before the cargo was discharged, hut it is contended that September 14 is the crucial date, because raw sugar is usually sold afloat, and must he sold before delivery to the refinery, if it is to be sold to the best advantage.

Considering, first, the causes of the ship’s delay, it may be conceded, as the claimant contends, that the period of 50 days should [930]*930he divided into two intervals — one of 27 days, which occurred during deviation of the ship to Yokohoma, and her stay in that port after leaving Pulapandan; and the balance of the delay during the progress of the voyage between Yokohoma and Philadelphia. So far as the first delay of 27 days is concerned, it is not seriously disputed that the ship was to blame because she left Pulapandan with a foul bottom. There is a rapid growth of barnacles on the bottom of a ship in Philippine waters, especially when she is lying for a considerable period at the dock. . It is customary in any event to dry-dock a steamship' and paint it every 6 months to retard the growth of barnacles and keep the bottom free; but the Iossifoglu had not been painted since November 11, 1924. The result was that on May 28, 1925, five days after she left-port for Honolulu, it was found that her speed was so retarded that she would' not be able to reach Honolulu without refueling, and a deviation to Yokohoma became necessary. Additional time was lost by troubles with the piaehinery of the vessel, caused by the fouling of the water cooling jackets .around the-cylinders, which resulted in the overheating and fracture of the cylinder cover liners. Eight breakdowns at sea delayed the vessel a little less than 4 days on the leg of the voyage between Pulapandan and Yokohoma. She was detained in Yoko-homa for the cleaning of the bottom and repairs to the machinery from June 10 to July 1. It was found that the bottom was covered with a coral growth to the thickness of three-fourths of an inch. Three cylinder cover liners were east, machined, and fitted, and all piston water service tubes were renewed. All of-the repairs were made and completed to the entire .satisfaction of Lloyd’s surveyor at Yokohoma. "

After the ship left Yokohoma for Philadelphia via Honolulu, frequent stops were necessary because of defective machinery. Between July 1 and July 19, while the vessel was en route from Yokohoma to Honolulu, there were four stops at sea due to breakdowns in the machinery, which caused a delay of approximately 1% days. It was also necessary for the vessel to stay in the port of Honolulu 4 days for repairs to the machinery. The cause of the breakdowns, according to the engineer, was the cracking of the piston rings of the engine. During the voyage from Honolulu to Panama between July 23 and August 25, there were seven stops at sea which caused a delay in the aggregate of approximately 7⅓ days. The cause of the trouble on these occasions was said to be leaky piston water service tubes. In addition, the vessel was detained at Panama for repairs to the machinery for a period of 10 days. On the way from Panama to Philadelphia, between September 4 and September 14, there was a delay of a few hours at sea due to the breakdown of the engine. In all, the delays during the period between July 1 and September 14 amounted to approximately 23 days.

It is contended on behalf of the ship that she has no responsibility for the delays during this second period because of a provision in the charter party that the ship should not be answerable for any loss or damage arising from any latent defect in the machinery not resulting from want of due diligence by her owners. It is pointed out that the machinery troubles, which arose between Yokohoma and Honolulu, and between Honolulu and Panama, were quite different from the defects occurring between Pulapandan and Yokohoma, which had some connection with the failure to cleanse the bottom of the ship before she left the Philippines; and it is contended that, since a certificate of complete seaworthiness was given by the surveyor after extensive repairs were made at Yokohoma, the subsequent defects must have sprung from latent causes not discoverable in the exercise of ordinary care. Hence the owner of the ship says that she is culpable only for the earlier delay, and, since no damages were suffered thereby, there can be no recovery at all, because the responsibility of a ship in the case of an involuntary deviation, caused by unseaworthiness at the beginning of the voyage, is limited to those injuries which flow from the lack of due care of the owner and does not extend to all injuries which would have been avoided if the deviation had not taken place. See The Malcolm Baxter, Jr., 277 U. S. 323, 48 S. Ct. 516, 72 L. Ed. 901.

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Bluebook (online)
32 F.2d 928, 1929 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1251, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/the-iossifoglu-mdd-1929.