Union Oil Co. of California v. Luckenbach S. S. Co.

On the afternoon of October 7, 1922, the steamship Walter A. Luekenbach came into collision with the oil tanker Lyman Stewart, off Fort Point in the Golden Gate) in a dense fog. At the time of the collision the Luekenbach was entering the harbor of San Francisco on a voyage from New York and Philadelphia to San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle. She passed the lightship off the Golden Gate at 2:25 p. m. that afternoon, and proceeded full speed ahead until she reached Mile Rock, about two miles from the place of the collision. She arrived at Mile Rock at 3:06 p. m., and proceeded thence at half speed until 3:19 p. m., when she encountered a strong eddy or rip tide near Fort Point. There the port engine was given full speed ahead and the starboard engine full speed astern, to straighten her on her course. This movement had scarcely been accomplished when the Luekenbach sighted the Stewart coming almost head on, going *101 out to sea, not more than 300 or 400 feet away. The collision followed immediately thereafter. After the collision the two vessels remained together until 3:29 p. m., when they drifted apart. Both vessels were considerably damaged by the collision, but by far the…