The Oceania Vance

[1] This case grew out of a collision between the steam tug Sea Lion, at the time bound from Waldron Island to Grays Harbor and having in tow a barge laden with rock, and the schooner Oceania Vance, at the time in ballast under sail before a stiff breeze. The place where the collision occurred was one much frequented by vessels, and there was a thick fog prevailing. The collision resulted in the sinking and total loss of the tug and the personal effects of its officers and crew. The trial court found that the schooner was at the time proceeding at a speed of from 6% to 7 knots an hour, which speed was an immoderate one, and was the sole cause of the accident, and accordingly gave judgment against the claimant of the schooner for the full amount of the damage caused by the collision.

We think the evidence in the case justified the conclusion that the speed of the schooner was from 6% to 7 knots an hour, and we are also of the opinion that that speed, under the circumstances then prevailing, was immoderate, and therefore that the schooner was in that respect rightly held in fault. The Chattahoochee, 173 U. S. 540 , 19 Sup. Ct. 491, 43 L. Ed. 801 ; The Umbria, 166 U. S. 404 , 17…