27 F. 759 | N.D.N.Y. | 1886
This is a collision case. On the thirteenth of May, 1885, the loaded canal-boat George Barnard, owned by the libelant, was proceeding down the Buffalo river in tow of the steam-tug Oneida, destined for the Erie canal via the Commercial slip. At the same time the tug Alpha was steaming up the' river, having in tow the
The collision was not inscrutable. Some one was at fault. Who was it ? No negligence is imputed to the Barnard. She did all that was possible to avert the accident. This was practically conceded on the argument.' Regarding the Oneida, also, the proof discloses no well-founded accusation. It is said that the accident might have been avoided if she had stopped, or passed on down the river between the canal-boats and the Manitowoc, or turned to the left, and passed the barge on her starboard side. The difficulty with this reasoning is that it assumes that the Oneida knew, or had reason to suspect, that the barge’s line would part, and leave her helpless and unmanageable opposite the entrance to the slip. The Oneida presumed, and was
Coming now to the Alpha and the Manitowoc, it should be remembered that the latter was a large, heavily laden barge, depending solely upon the tug for locomotion. She was helpless the moment she was cast loose. It can be confidently affirmed, then, that the accident happened because the line parted. Through wdiose negligence did the hawser break ? When this question is answered, the party responsible for the collision will be revealed.
The hawser furnished by the barge was an ordinary six-inch harbor line. It was nearly new, having been used but once before. A section of it was produced upon the hearing, and, although examined by hostile witnesses, no fault in it has been pointed out. Being strong enough to withstand any ordinary strain, it must have parted because subjected to an extraordinary strain. The master of the Alpha frankly admits that the hawser broke because he pulled too hard upon it. When within a few hundred feet of the slip, the tug, in her efforts to bring the barge safely around the curve, put her helm hard a-port, thus heading for the south side of the river. In this position the barge passed the tug, and, in seaman’s parlance, “tripped her up.” They were proceeding against tlie current at the rate of about four miles an hour, their courses forming an angle of about 45 deg. A tremendous leverage was thus brought upon the hawser, which rolled the tug up almost upon her beam’s end. No ordinary line could resist such a strain. It broke about a minute after the helm was put hard a-port. There can be no doubt that it was bad seamanship for the Alpha, with so short a line, and so heavy and unwieldy a tow, to permit herself to get into such a dilemma. This was negligence, and to it the collision is alone attributable. It follows that the libelant is entitled to a decree against the Alpha, with costs, and a reference to compute the amount due. As to the Oneida and the Manitowoc the libel is dismissed, without costs, but the Oneida is entitled to recover her disbursements of the libelant.