On Tue, Aug 4, 2009 at 2:15 AM, Dave Kruger <kdruger_at_pacifier.com> wrote: > > 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. LOL. I don't recall anyone ever referring to my essays as a "scholarly treatise" before. I kinda like it. :P > 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. One does not have to arrange the details before hand, however if there is time it's wise. There is even an internationally accepted form that both parties can sign that determine the terms of the salvage. You can imagine the Captain sitting at his desk worrying about signing the standard form while the storm rages about his ship. 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. Most people believe that a vessel needs to be abandoned before it can be salvaged. This is not the truth. The fine line between a rescue and a salvage generally has to do with the risk to the vessel, the damage to the vessel, and the risk to the potential salvor. Thirty years ago most people in small boats were rescued by the USCG (at least in the USA) but now it's most often done by a third party (Vessel Assist is the most common) and very often under terms of an insurance policy that determines how much a rescue will cost beforehand (generally around $200). So let's say that your 25-foot cabin cruiser misses the channel and runs up onto a sand bar at medium tide and you call for help. The tide is rising so your boat would be free quickly no matter what and there is no damage so someone just throws you a line and you get towed off, wave "thanks" and tootle off on your way. This was not a salvage operation. But let's tighten up the odds a bit. There is a storm brewing and your boat is now battered by waves on a falling tide on the very same sandbar. The boat is in danger of serious damage if it's left for much longer in that position. In all likelihood this would be determined to be a salvage operation if it came to court. You can see that the devil is in the details. The vessel need not be abandoned (although an abandoned vessel is its own special category) nor does the captain of the vessel need to specifically claim that his vessel is in dire straits. The circumstances of the operation will determine the issue. Mind you, I am not a lawyer and seldom watch television programs portraying lawyers. But I was a merchant marine officer for a long time and it behooves us to become at least familiar with these issues. If the fishing vessel took both the paddlers and their kayaks aboard in bad weather then I'd say they have a good case for a salvage claim in the unlikely event that they chose to do so. Fishermen know that they may be "in extremis" themselves one day and generally do whatever they can to help. Karma and all that. 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. > Yup... in my book too. Craig Jungers Moses Lake, WA www.nwkayaking.net *************************************************************************** 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 Wed Aug 05 2009 - 04:17:45 PDT
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:31:37 PDT