Ishizaki Kisen Company, Ltd. v. United States of America, Ishizaki Kisen Company, Ltd. v. United States

This admiralty case is the result of a collision between two vessels in the harbor at Kure, Japan. It raises a question concerning the application of the presumption of fault rule announced in The Pennsylvania, 86 U.S. (19 Wall.) 125 , 22 L.Ed. 148 (1874), to collisions in foreign waters. Jurisdiction rests on 28 U.S.C. § 1292 (b), 28 U.S.C. § 1333 , and The Public Vessels Act, 46 U.S.C. § 781 et seq.

The vessels involved are the Kinsei-Go, a Japanese vessel owned and operated by Ishizaki Kisen Co., Ltd., and Army Vessel J — 3793, owned by the United States and operated by the Department of the Army. The Kinsei-Go is a hydrofoil-type vessel of 63.75 gross tons which is regularly engaged in passenger service between the cities of Hiroshima, Kure, and Matsuyama. The J — 3793 is a vessel of about 39 gross tons which is operated by the Army as personnel and cargo carrier in Kure harbor.

On the morning of December 21, 1967, in clear weather, both vessels were operating in their regular capacities on the waters of Kure harbor. The J — 3793 was making a speed of 13 knots when her master first sighted the Kinsei-Go on his vessel’s port bow, on a crossing course, at a distance…