Joshua Teitelbaum wrote: > Okay, then do I understand correctly? Basically, a ship must come to the > rescue if it can do so safely, but it can legally demand compensation if > it so desires. If it does not demand compensation, it is a "good > samaritan" type of rescue. It it does, it is a salvage operation. Must > they make such a choice and then inform the USCG? Craig is the sea lawyer; I am but a mild mannered chemist. Craig will have a scholarly treatise for us. I'll just give you my gut feeling on what is right. My guess is that "demand compensation" is not the usual deal when lives are at stake. It is not cool to stand at the rail and ask for a VISA card when someone is possibly at risk, sloshing around in the wash below. However, an _abandoned_ vessel is subject to rules regarding salvage. Meaning: a salvager can latch onto your ship and hold it for compensation. If you decide not to cough up the dough, they can sell it (and its contents) and keep the proceeds. In this case, your buddies had not abandoned their vessels, so I don't know what maritime law says. Rewarding the Vigilant's captain and crew is just the right thing to do, in my personal code of ethics. Two thousand bucks is a small price to pay for what the Vigilant did, in my book. -- Dave Kruger Astoria, OR *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Tue Aug 04 2009 - 03:26:30 PDT
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