Tyne Tugs v Owners of the MV Aldora (The MV Aldora)
| Jurisdiction | England & Wales |
| Date | 1975 |
| Year | 1975 |
| Court | Queen's Bench Division |
Admiralty - Interest - Salvage action - Whether power to award interest for whole or part of period from date of salvage services to judgment -
The defendants' ship, the Aldora, was on a voyage with a full cargo to be delivered at a terminal in Blyth Harbour, which was approached from the sea by a dredged channel the seaward limits of which were marked on the north side by a buoy. It was standard practice at the harbour for a ship of the Aldora's size to be met outside the harbour and to be navigated into her berth in the harbour by a pilot with the assistance of four tugs. Due to a misunderstanding as to the time, the Aldora arrived earlier than had been anticipated by the pilot or the tugs which had been engaged to render assistance to her at a position about two miles from the buoy, and the Aldora continued on her inward journey towards the buoy at reduced speed, expecting to be met by the pilot and the tugs at any moment. On reaching the buoy and finding that the pilot and the tugs had still not arrived, the master of the Aldora turned her around in order to proceed out to sea again. In the process of that operation, the ship ran aground on a sandbank. The pilot and the tugs arrived soon afterwards and succeeded in refloating the ship. Thereafter, the pilot, with the assistance of the tugs, navigated the Aldora to her berth in the harbour.
The plaintiffs, the pilot, and the tugs' owners, masters and crew brought an action in rem against the owners of the Aldora claiming remuneration for salvage services and contended that such services lasted until the Aldora was safely berthed in the harbour. Brandon J. held that the salvage services terminated near the buoy before the ship proceeded inward into the harbour and that, thereafter, the plaintiffs were entitled to be paid for towage services only.
On the further question whether the plaintiffs were entitled to interest on the salvage awards for the whole or any part of the period from the date of the services to judgment: —
Held, that a claim for salvage was a proceeding for the recovery of a debt within the meaning of section 3 (1) of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1934, and, since there was no reason why the principle on which the Admiralty Court proceeded in awarding interest in damage actions should not be applied to salvage awards, the court had power to award interest both under section 3 (1) of the Act of 1934 or under its inherent jurisdiction and, in all the circumstances, that power should be exercised in the present case.
The following cases are referred to in the judgment:
Amalia, The (
Berwickshire, The [
De Bay, The (
Hestia, The [
Jefford v. Gee [
Kong Magnus, The [
Mecca, The [
Northumbria, The (
Tojo Maru, The [
The following additional cases were cited in argument:
Cousins (H.) & Co. Ltd. v. D. & C. Carriers Ltd. [
Liverpool, The [
Sandefjord, The [
Troilus (Cargo Owners) v. Glenogle (Owners, Master and Crew) [
ACTION
By a writ dated October 19, 1972, the owners, masters and crews of the tugs Northsider, Westsider, Alnmouth and Quaysider and Blyth Harbour Master Pilot, Martin Purvis (“the plaintiffs”), brought an action in rem (1972 folio 439) against the owners of the ship, m.v. Aldora, her cargo and freight (“the defendants”), for remuneration for salvage services rendered by the tugs, their masters and crews, and pilot, to the Aldora, her cargo and freight, in or around Blyth harbour, on or about February 8, 1972. Brandon J. was assisted by Capt. M. B. Wingate, Elder Brother of Trinity House.
The facts are stated in the judgment of Brandon J.
Michael Dean for the plaintiffs.
Nicholas Phillips for the defendants.
December 20. BRANDON J. read the following judgment. In this case the plaintiffs, who are the owners, masters and crews of four river Tyne tugs, the Northsider, Westsider, Alnmouth and Quaysider, and a Blyth pilot, Captain Purvis, claim from the defendants, as owners of the Italian ship Aldora and her cargo, remuneration for salvage services rendered in the approaches to Blyth harbour on the evening of February 8, 1972.
The Aldora, as a result of an error in navigation by her master, had gone aground outside the dredged channel leading to the harbour. The four tugs mentioned, under the direction of the pilot, refloated her by towing and pushing, with...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Tehno-Impex v Gebr. Van Weelde Scheepvaartkantoor B.v
...of another should be restored to the position in which he would have been if the wrong had not occurred. Thus in The Aldora (1975) Queen's Bench 748, a case to which the provisions of section 3 of the 1934 Act applied, Mr. Justice Brandon, as an alternative ground for his decision, awarded......
- Rilland, The (Eureka VI, Lastdrager XII, Norrard Star)
- Ben Gairn, The (Starwood)
-
President of India v La Pintada Compania Navigacion S.A. (La Pintada)
...after the Judicature Acts 1873-1875, and the Admiralty Court after its creation by the Administration of Justice Act 1970. In The Aldora [1975] Q.B. 748, I decided, sitting as a judge of the Admiralty Court, that the practice of awarding interest in damage actions could and should be exten......
-
Maritime Towage
...the same parties, Leon Blum (The) , [above note 133], although they may alternate during successive periods of time, Aldora (The) , [1975] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 617 at 623.” Texaco Southampton (The) , [1983] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 94 at 96 (NSWCA), Justice Glass. 138 Westbourne (The) (1889), 14 PD 132. 139 ......