Cite as: 515 U. S. 189 (1995)
Opinion of the Court
erty lost, at the time of the loss, and in case of injury, the diminution in value, by reason of the injury, with interest upon such valuation, afforded the true measure for assessing damages." Id., at 560 (emphasis added). We applied the same rule in The Umbria, 166 U. S. 404, 421 (1897), explaining that "in cases of total loss by collision damages are limited to the value of the vessel, with interest thereon, and the net freight pending at the time of the collision." (Emphasis added.)6
The Courts of Appeals have consistently and correctly construed decisions such as these as establishing a general rule that prejudgment interest should be awarded in maritime collision cases, subject to a limited exception for "peculiar" or "exceptional" circumstances. See, e. g., Inland Oil & Transport Co., 696 F. 2d, at 327; Central Rivers Towing, Inc. v. Beardstown, 750 F. 2d 565, 574 (CA7 1984); Ohio River Co. v. Peavey Co., 731 F. 2d 547, 549 (CA8 1984); Alkmeon Naviera, 633 F. 2d, at 797; Parker Towing Co. v. Yazoo River Towing, Inc., 794 F. 2d 591, 594 (CA11 1986).
The essential rationale for awarding prejudgment interest is to ensure that an injured party is fully compensated for its loss.7 Full compensation has long been recognized as a
6 See also The Anna Maria, 2 Wheat. 327, 335 (1817) (Marshall, C. J.) (remanding with instructions to ascertain damages suffered by the libellants, "in doing which, the value of the vessel, and the prime cost of the cargo, with all charges, and the premium of insurance, where it has been paid, with interest, are to be allowed") (emphasis added); The Manitoba, 122 U. S. 97, 101 (1887) (approving, in dicta, allowance of "interest on the damages from the date of the collision to the date of the decree").
7 We have recognized the compensatory nature of prejudgment interest in a number of cases decided outside the admiralty context. E. g., West Virginia v. United States, 479 U. S. 305, 310-311, n. 2 (1987); Funkhouser v. J. B. Preston Co., 290 U. S. 163, 168 (1933); Miller v. Robertson, 266 U. S. 243, 257-258 (1924). But cf. Blau v. Lehman, 368 U. S. 403, 414 (1962) (" 'interest is not recovered according to a rigid theory of compensation for money withheld, but is given in response to considerations of fairness' ") (quoting Board of Comm'rs of Jackson Cty. v. United States, 308 U. S. 343, 352 (1939)).
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