446
Opinion of the Court
Court of Cal., County of San Diego, 346 U. S. 556, 560-561 (1954); Steamboat Co. v. Chase, 16 Wall. 522, 533-534 (1873).
B
Admiralty and maritime law includes a host of special rights, duties, rules, and procedures. See, e. g., 46 U. S. C. App. § 721 et seq. (wrecks and salvage); § 741 et seq. (suits in admiralty by or against vessels or cargoes of the United States); 46 U. S. C. § 10101 et seq. (merchant seamen protection and relief). Among these provisions is the Limitation Act, 46 U. S. C. App. § 181 et seq. The Act allows a vessel owner to limit liability for damage or injury, occasioned without the owner's privity or knowledge, to the value of the vessel or the owner's interest in the vessel. The central provision of the Act provides:
"The liability of the owner of any vessel, whether American or foreign, for any embezzlement, loss, or destruction by any person of any property, goods, or merchandise shipped or put on board of such vessel, or for any loss, damage, or injury by collision, or for any act, matter, or thing, loss, damage, or forfeiture, done, occasioned, or incurred, without the privity or knowledge of such owner or owners, shall not, except in the cases provided for in subsection (b) of this section, exceed the amount or value of the interest of such owner in such vessel, and her freight then pending." § 183(a).
See also § 183(b) (requiring supplemental fund for some vessels for personal injury and death claimants).
Congress passed the Limitation Act in 1851 "to encourage ship-building and to induce capitalists to invest money in this branch of industry." Norwich Co. v. Wright, 13 Wall. 104, 121 (1872). See also British Transport Comm'n v. United States, 354 U. S. 129, 133-135 (1957); Just v. Chambers, 312 U. S. 383, 385 (1941). The Act also had the purpose of "putting American shipping upon an equality with that of other
Page: Index Previous 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007