United States v. Ex-Uss Cabot/Dedalo

179 F.Supp.2d 697 (2000)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

The Cabot is a decommissioned navy aircraft carrier. The Cabot was owned by the U.S.S. Cabot Dedalo Museum Foundation, Inc. and docked at the Press Street Wharf in the Port of New Orleans. Eventually, the U.S.S. Cabot Dedalo Museum Foundation, Inc. refused to take action to protect its ship. The United States Coast Guard took over. The Coast Guard performed repairs to the wharf and hired companies to provide tug assistance to protect The Cabot from breaking away and colliding with another vessel or facility. On October 12, 1997, the Coast Guard paid for The Cabot to be taken to a safer docking facility in Violet, Louisiana. The Coast Guard spent at least $500,868.94 on wharf repairs, tug assistance, and towing The Cabot. The Parties disagree on whether The Cabot was in real danger. The Cabot departed Violet, Louisiana for Port Isabel, Texas on or about October 13, 1997. The new owner of the vessel, Pankaj I. Patel, contacted William E. Kennon, the President of Marine Salvage, to help him arrange for Cabot's wharfage upon arrival in Port Isabel. Patel told Kennon that he wanted to dock The Cabot at Port Isabel for two to three months until a berth was readied in Brownsville, Texas where the vessel was to be scrapped. In March 1998, Kennon noticed that The Cabot began to list and unsuccessfully tried to contact Patel. When the list increased markedly over a matter of days, Kennon feared that the vessel would capsize if the condition was not corrected. This would have destroyed the value of the vessel and it would have cost a fortune to try and raise that ship up. Kennon successfully acted to stabilize the ship from March 14 to March 21, 1998, and submitted a bill that indicates that he spent $20,908.00 on the endeavor. Marine Salvage has submitted bills that support a claim for necessaries for $56,872.39. The evidence shows, that Kennon's actions were beyond the scope of his oral agreement with Patel, which was limited to arranging for the initial mooring of the vessel. On June 19, 1998, while The Cabot was docked in Port Isabel, Marine Salvage (P), among others, filed suit against the vessel in rem, and this Court issued an arrest warrant on that same day. After a lot of actions, the Court finally arrested The Cabot in the present case on April 27, 1999, and the vessel was sold at an auction on September 9, 1999. After the sale, the Court held a two-phase bench trial to determine the distribution of the $185,000.00 in sale proceeds. The first phase of the trial was held to determine the custodia legis expenses of the substitute custodian, and the second phase -- the subject of this order -- was held to determine the priority and amount of the maritime liens asserted by the Parties to this lawsuit. The Court ruled that the substitute custodian was entitled to $90,047.06. The expenses incurred by the Marshals Service, in the amount of $3,702.26, have also been deducted from the sale proceeds pursuant to 46 U.S.C. § 31326. Thus, $91,250.68, and the interest accrued on that amount, remains to be distributed. Marine Salvage (P) claims that it has a salvage lien based on voluntary services rendered to prevent The Cabot from capsizing and an additional lien based on necessaries provided to the vessel. The United States [alleges that it has a salvage lien because it prevented The Cabot from breaking loose after another vessel collided with it in New Orleans. The Board of Commissioners claims that it has a priority lien based on the initial in rem judgment it obtained in Louisiana federal district court.