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Admiralty Law Keyed to Maraist
Exxon Company, U.S.A. v. Sofec, Inc.
Citation:
517 U.S. 830 (1996)Facts
The Exxon Houston tanker was delivering oil through a Single Point Mooring System when a storm broke the chain linking the vessel to the mooring. As the vessel drifted, oil hoses broke away, with a portion of one hose remaining attached to the ship, threatening to foul the propeller. Captain Coyne maneuvered the ship through a series of actions, and by 1830 nautical time, the Houston had successfully avoided the initial peril and reached a safe position heading out to sea. However, Captain Coyne failed to plot the ship’s position between 1830 and 2004, which the courts found to be grossly negligent. At 1956, he initiated a final turn toward shore without knowing the ship’s position. When the position was finally plotted at 2004, it was too late to avoid a reef, resulting in the ship’s grounding and constructive total loss. The District Court found that Captain Coyne’s decisions were made calmly and deliberately, without pressure of imminent peril, and his failure to plot fixes was entirely independent of the breakout incident.
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