Poseidon. Caught in the clutches of Tropical Storm Gordon, Poseidon and her escort, the J.A. Orgeron, were without power and adrift. Driven on the gales of the tempest, the flotilla was swiftly approaching the Bethel Shoal; if they ran aground, the ships were sure to founder and be lost. Acutely aware of the danger, Orgeron's captain radioed for help. Alas, the Coast Guard was not in a position to mount a rescue. In despair, the captain made plans to release Poseidon and her valuable cargo, an external fuel tank for the space shuttle. Although this action would result in the certain loss of Poseidon and the tank, the captain hoped thereby to save Orgeron and her crew." "Orgeron's distress call had been picked up by the M/V Cherry Valley. Cherry Valley was a 688-foot oil tanker owned by Margate with a crew of 25 and a value of $7.5 million. On November 15, the ship was fully laden with nine million gallons of heavy fuel oil and had a draft of about 35 feet. She was pursuing a course in deep water somewhat south of Orgeron's position when she picked up the distress call. Although under no obligation to assist, Cherry Valley's master, the suitably named Captain Strong, immediately altered course to rendezvous with the tug. In so doing, he took his relatively unmaneuverable craft into perilous shoal waters in direct violation of
The 600 ton capacity D/B BIG T, owned by T&T Marine Salvage of Galveston, Texas, and the 700 ton capacity D/B Cappy Bisso, owned by Bisso Marine of Houston, Texas, were used to make a tandem lift of a 105ft. sunken tugboat in Port Arthur, Texas.
standing orders." The court then described Captain Strong: "Captain Prentice Strong III was a graduate of the Maine Maritime Academy, and had been going to sea for over ten years at the time of the events in this case. It is a substantial testament to his ability that he reached the pinnacle of his profession, master of a large ocean-going tanker, at the remarkably youthful age of 32. Given this record, we are not surprised that Captain Strong displayed exemplary seamanship throughout this incident." The trial court awarded Margate approximately $6.4 million in salvage, which the appeals court reduced to $4.125 million due to the trial court's error in valuing the tank. Thus, while it has ancient origins, modern American salvage law remains very relevant and, for those who undertake the risks which can attend a salvage operation, potentially huge financial awards.
Fred Goldsmith practices admiralty & maritime, insurance coverage, personal injury and commercial litigation in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio with Pittsburghbased Goldsmith & Ogrodowski, LLC (www.golawllc.com). He can be reached at fbg@golawllc.com.
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Marine Technology Reporter 41
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