Texaco, Inc. v. Petroleum Specialists Corp.

Facts

Texaco, Inc., appellant (hereinafter Texaco), is owner of the modern “supertanker,” the SS Texaco Montana. On July 4, 1967, the ship was docked in the Los Angeles Harbor, at Wilmington, California, to discharge its cargo of fuel. Texaco had a contract with respondent, Petroleum Specialists Corp. (hereinafter PSC), providing that said company would discharge cargoes from Texaco tankers in Los Angeles (Wilmington) and Long Beach Harbors. In practice, when a Texaco vessel docks, PSC’s crew (approximately seven men on this occasion) replaces the vessel’s crew. On the above date, the PSC crew went aboard the Texaco Montana at 4 p.m., and the ship’s crew disembarked from the vessel. William Skinner, president of PSC, was in charge of this crew, which included Charles Bays (hereinafter Bays), an experienced pumpman and seaman. The only “or *432 ders” from Texaco to which PSC’s crew were subject were the written instructions from the ship’s chief mate outlining the sequence in which the vessel’s tanks were to be discharged. At all times pertinent hereto, the ship and the PSC personnel on it were under the control and supervision of PSC’s president, and Texaco did not…