Borcich

This action in admiralty grew out of a collision in a dense fog on the morning of November 30, 1948 between two fishing vessels, the oil-screw Marsha Ann and the oil-screw Bear. The collision occurred just outside the breakwater at the entrance to San Pedro Bay in California.

The original libel was filed by seven of the crew members of the Bear against the Marsha Ann and the owners thereof for wages and maintenance. An intervening libel was filed by George Korgan and Sam Bilas, as owners of the Bear, for collision damages and by the two remaining crew members of the Bear for wages and maintenance.

The manner in which the collision occurred is in dispute. The Bear is a wooden vessel 65 feet in length, built in 1917. The Marsha Ann is a somewhat larger vessel being 97 feet in length and equipped with radar.

According to the testimony of the appellees the Bear left the vicinity of Oceanside, California at 5:30 A.M. bound for San Pedro Bay, some 55 miles away, with a cargo of fish caught during the night. About 9:30 A. M. Korgan, who was in charge of the Bear changed the watch, turned the wheel over to Nick Milosevich and went to sleep. At this time the weather was clear.…