Savage & vicious nature of a crew member, and owner's liability for unseaworthiness

Can a vessel be deemed unseaworthy due to the violent nature of a crew member? In The Captain Billy Haver [2021], first mate was murdered by a fellow crew member. His widow was claiming against the owners alleging unseaworthiness and owners were looking to limit their liability.

In a case like this the court first has to consider if the fishing vessel was unseaworthy, then did the unseaworthiness caused the accident and finally, whether the owner had knowledge of the unseaworthiness. An owners’ liability for unseaworthiness arises when a seaman has such "a savage and vicious nature" as to endanger the others who work on the ship. Savage disposition can be proven by things such as the crew’s quarrelsome nature or if a weapon was used.

Here when the crew were shucking the scallops, the assailant (who was addicted to drugs) stabbed the first mate multiple times with a knife and hit another crew with a sledgehammer. Vessel was deemed unseaworthy by the court due to the nature of the assault. On the owner’s privity or knowledge, the company’s hiring policies were looked at closely. The company had no formal policies for hiring and all crew were hired by the Master which seemed to be the industry practice for such boats. Owners were able to show that no officer onboard or managing agent had knowledge of the crew member's drug use or propensity for violence.

Owners were therefore entitled to limit their liability to $6m by a US Court.

Court judgement: https://www.leagle.com/decision/infdco20220609a66

LinkedIn post: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/siddharthmahajan18_maritimelaw-activity-6959438579454414848-7-Ys?utm_source=linkedin_share&utm_medium=member_desktop_web