Young Bros., Limited v. Cho. The Kolo

This case is a libel in admiralty against the tug Kolo to recover for the loss of the sampan Tenyo Maru, owned by the libelant. The sampan was abandoned while under tow by the tug between the islands of Molokai and Oahu, Hawaii, and was not thereafter found. The trial court awarded judgment against the tug in the amount of the value of the sampan.

The findings were as follows: The sampan went aground on a reef off Molokai on April 3, 1948. Three days later she was towed off the reef by the tugs Kolo and Mahoe, both owned by the claimant (appellant), and taken by The Kolo to Kaunakakai, Molokai. As a consequence of having been on the reef the sampan’s hull was damaged in an area 3 inches wide and about U/2 feet long and was in an unseaworthy condition because of its grounding — a condition known both to the libelant and to the master of the tug. There being no proper facilities for repairing the sampan at Kaunakakai, the master of The Kolo, on April 7, undertook to tow her to Honolulu. When the tug and its tow were in the Molokai Channel, 8 to 10 miles from Molokai, the sampan had taken water to the extent that her decks were awash and she had 3 to 4 feet of freeboard in the bow.…