States Marine Corp. of Delaware v. Victory Carriers, Inc.

Victory Carriers, Inc., owner of the vessel Lewis Emery, Jr., filed a libel against the tug, Sea Scout, and the latter’s owner and operator, Shipowners and Merchants Towboat Co., Ltd., claiming collision damages caused by the alleged fault of the Sea Scout and the employees of the Towboat Co., including the tug master who served as pilot on the trip.

The tug owners, commonly known as Red Stack, (and so called herein), im-pleaded the appellant States Marine Corporation of Delaware, to whom the Lewis Emery Jr. was time-chartered at the time of. the collision, praying indemnity from- States Marine for any sums Red Stack might be required to pay libelant. The decision of the trial court was that the collision was caused by the combined negligence of the pilot on the vessel (here called the Emery), 1 and of the operator of the tug. This finding is not contested. The court further decided that States Marine, in ordering the towage service furnished by Red Stack, had expressly warranted its authority to bind Victory Carriers to a pilotage clause, made a part of the order, under which Red Stack would have been free from liability to Victory Carriers for collision damage resulting from…