The Inca

Citations

• 130 F. 36
• 1904 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 244

Syllabus

<p>~L Towage — Care Required oe Tug.</p> <p>A tug, undertaking a towage service, is bound to the exercise of ordinary care and maritime skill, and the master is bound to know the channel, and its usual currents and dangers, which are known generally to men experienced in its navigation, and to exercise such skill and knowledge for the protection of his tow.</p> <p>2. Same — Loss oe Tow — Liability oe Tug.</p> <p>A tug undertook to tow a bark laden with lumber down the Satilla river, in Georgia, where she had often towed vessels during a number of years. The tug proceeded near the left-hand side of the channel, a short distance outside of which, some half a mile from the starting point, at a bend in the river, there were a number of piles of stone, where vessels had unloaded ballast, and on one of which the bark grounded, striking toward the stern, which was deepest in the water. The tide was rising, and she would have floated in a short time; but the master of the tug, after several attempts, pulled her off, but in doing so she was injured, so that she sank almost immediately. The obstructions had been there for many years, and were known to pilots and navigators of the river, but were not known to the master of the bark, who was wholly unacquainted with the river or its channel. At the place of the accident the channel was 200 feet wide, and the river some 375 feet. The master of the tug testified that he was watching the bark, and that a short time before the grounding a new hand took the wheel, after which she was badly steered and did not follow the tug. Held, that the tug was liable for the loss, on the ground that the master was presumed to know the existence of the obstructions, and that it was his duty to warn the bark of the danger, if she was not properly steered; also, because he failed to exercise proper care and skill in releasing her after the grounding.</p>