Wiel and Amundsen, A/S, as claimant of the steamer Romulus, hereafter Shipowner, appeals from a decree of the district court awarding damages to Potter, a longshoreman, who was loading lumber in the forehold of the ship. The district court held that the Shipowner was negligent in failing to make tight a removable rod, a part of a fencing railing above the deck just forward of the opened fore-hold also making the vessel unseaworthy in that respect, as a result of which the loose rod gave away in Potter’s hands as he moved to his right from the lumber on the left side of the ship, causing him to fall some seven and one-half feet onto the deck beneath with his ensuing injury.

The Shipowner’s contention is that the injury to Potter was caused solely by his own negligence in proceeding on the narrow part of the foredeck protruding over the hold and relying on the loose rod to sustain him instead of moving over the lumber itself or climbing over the fencing and proceeding over the foredeck.

The Shipowner claims that we are free to consider the evidence de novo in this admiralty appeal, though an inspection of the testimony, all heard by the court, shows that it is conflicting in essential respects. It is unquestioned that the removable rod could not be made fast to the rail of which it was a part. It had lacked so long a cotter pin to be inserted in a slot in the rod to make it fast to the railing, that seven coats of paint on the slot made its use impossible. Since we hold that Potter properly relied on the safety of that rod, this clearly sustained the findings of the court:

The testimony of Marvin Girt, the boss stevedore, clearly warranted the court in making this finding.

The only testimony claimed to be to the contrary on the question of walking on the afterside of the railing is that of Harold, the ship’s supercargo, who testified not as to his general experience but that “on this ship” as follows:

Even were this a trial de novo we would accept the testimony of Girt as to his general experience against that of Harold.

Since the evidence supports the finding that Potter was not negligent in proceeding on the afterside of the rail relying on the safe condition of the rod and the finding that the rail was unsafe, we agree with the district court that the shipowner was negligent and its ship unseaworthy, and affirm the decree.