Recreational Vessel Salvage Arbitration: An Interim Report

Journal of Maritime Law and Commerce

Volumn 29, Issue 2, 1996, Pages 257-265

  Cattell Jr , Edward V ^a,b,c  

^a Hollstein Keating Cattell Johnson G   (United States)

^b UNITED STATES MERCHANT MARINE ACADEMY   (United States)

^c RUTGERS UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 1542603098     PISSN: 00222410     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Article

References (23)

1. See further Staletovich, Stranded at Sea?; Pay Up or Paddle In: Companies Charging Up to $300 for a Tow, Palm Beach Post, Jan. 27, 1997, at 1A, and Williams, New Rule on Help for Boaters Draws Ire, N.Y. Times, Aug. 7, 1988, § 12NJ, at 1.
2. See further Staletovich, Stranded at Sea?; Pay Up or Paddle In: Companies Charging Up to $300 for a Tow, Palm Beach Post, Jan. 27, 1997, at 1A, and Williams, New Rule on Help for Boaters Draws Ire, N.Y. Times, Aug. 7, 1988, § 12NJ, at 1.
3. Readers wishing a copy of any of these documents can e-mail the author at EVC@hkcjg.com or contact the appropriate organization at the following address: SMA - Suite 8A15, 14 Wall Street, New York, New York 10005-2101, telephone (212) 587-0033, telefax (212) 587-6179. MMAC - P.O. Box 432463, Miami, Florida 33243-2463, telephone (305) 856-0206, telefax (305) 443-5040. BOAT/US - 880 South Pickett Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22304, telephone (703) 823-9550, telefax (703) 461-2847.
4. For additional discussions of the LOF, the Council of Lloyd's, and the 1989 Salvage Convention, see, e.g., G. Brice, Maritime Law of Salvage (2d ed. 1993); Allen, The International Convention on Salvage and LOF 1990, 22 J. Mar. L. & Com. 119 (1991); Gaskell, The 1989 Salvage Convention and the Lloyd's Open Form (LOF) Salvage Agreement 1990, 16 Tul. Mar. L.J. 1 (1991); Comment, The 1989 International Convention on Salvage, 24 Conn. L. Rev. 1203 (1992).
5. For additional discussions of the LOF, the Council of Lloyd's, and the 1989 Salvage Convention, see, e.g., G. Brice, Maritime Law of Salvage (2d ed. 1993); Allen, The International Convention on Salvage and LOF 1990, 22 J. Mar. L. & Com. 119 (1991); Gaskell, The 1989 Salvage Convention and the Lloyd's Open Form (LOF) Salvage Agreement 1990, 16 Tul. Mar. L.J. 1 (1991); Comment, The 1989 International Convention on Salvage, 24 Conn. L. Rev. 1203 (1992).
6. For additional discussions of the LOF, the Council of Lloyd's, and the 1989 Salvage Convention, see, e.g., G. Brice, Maritime Law of Salvage (2d ed. 1993); Allen, The International Convention on Salvage and LOF 1990, 22 J. Mar. L. & Com. 119 (1991); Gaskell, The 1989 Salvage Convention and the Lloyd's Open Form (LOF) Salvage Agreement 1990, 16 Tul. Mar. L.J. 1 (1991); Comment, The 1989 International Convention on Salvage, 24 Conn. L. Rev. 1203 (1992).
7. For additional discussions of the LOF, the Council of Lloyd's, and the 1989 Salvage Convention, see, e.g., G. Brice, Maritime Law of Salvage (2d ed. 1993); Allen, The International Convention on Salvage and LOF 1990, 22 J. Mar. L. & Com. 119 (1991); Gaskell, The 1989 Salvage Convention and the Lloyd's Open Form (LOF) Salvage Agreement 1990, 16 Tul. Mar. L.J. 1 (1991); Comment, The 1989 International Convention on Salvage, 24 Conn. L. Rev. 1203 (1992).
8. Many of these arbitrations were held in Key West, Florida, because of that city's large wrecking industry. For a description of one such arbitration, see Miller, The Case of the Brig Halcyon: A Study in Old Key West Admiralty Law, 27 J. Mar. L. & Com. 311 (1996).
9. See further Parks, The 1910 Brussels Convention, the United States Salvage Act of 1912, and Arbitration of Salvage Cases in the United States, 57 Tul. L. Rev. 1457 (1983) (noting that there were only 14 reported salvage arbitrations held in the United States between 1923 and 1983).
10. 1993 AMC 1194 (D.N.J. 1992).
11. See Rau, The New York Convention in American Courts, 7 Am. Rev. Int'l Arb. 213 (1996), and Jarvis, Case Note, 24 J. Mar. L. & Com. 573 (1993).
12. See Rau, The New York Convention in American Courts, 7 Am. Rev. Int'l Arb. 213 (1996), and Jarvis, Case Note, 24 J. Mar. L. & Com. 573 (1993).
13. See Jones v. Sea Tow Serv. of Freeport New York Inc., 30 F.3d 360, 1994 AMC 2661 (2d Cir. 1994), and Reinholtz v. Retriever Marine Towing & Salvage, 1994 AMC 2981 (S.D. Fla. 1993). Whether Jones, Reinholtz, and Brier remain good law after Vimar Seguros y Reaseguros, S.A. v. M/V Sky Reefer, 515 U.S. 528, 1995 AMC 1817 (1995), is an interesting question. As will be recalled, in Sky Reefer the United States Supreme Court upheld a Japanese arbitration clause despite the fact that the underlying dispute had no connection with that country. At least one commentator has suggested that Brier and its progeny have not survived the Supreme Court's ruling. See Davis, Sky Reefer: Foreign Arbitration & Litigation Under COGSA, 8 U.S.F. Mar. L.J. 73, 83 n.45 (1995).
14. For a useful overview of the SMA, see A Comment on the Rules of the Society of Maritime Arbitrators, Inc. (New York), 20 J. Mar. L. & Com. 199 (1989).
15. In a tripartite arbitration, the party-appointed arbitrators are entitled to a fee of $750 while the chairman is allowed $1,000.
16. For additional background information, see Jarvis & Mellman, A Comment on the Rules of the Maritime Arbitration Board of Miami, 19 J. Mar. L. & Com. 463 (1988).
17. The name SALCON 89 is a reference to the 1989 Salvage Convention.
18. A filing fee of $185 is paid by the claimant when the claim is first filed. A hearing fee of $75, which is shared by the parties, is paid for each day of hearings after the first day (which is free). In sole arbitrator cases, the party requesting a postponement must pay an additional fee of $100. If a second postponement is requested and granted, a fee of $200 is charged. In cases proceeding before three arbitrators, these figures are increased to $150 and $300.
19. The SMA's standard arbitration rules contain a similar set of simplified rules for small cases. Like the Small Vessel Rules, they utilize a sole arbitrator.
20. See Boat Owners Association of the United States v. United States, 834 F. Supp. 7, 9, 1994 AMC 1211 (D.D.C. 1993).
21. Jarvis, supra note 7, at 589-90.
22. See Sea Tow Servs. R.I. v. M/V Sea Bird, Award No. 3371 (Carroll, 1997); Sea Tow Servs. Daytona/Ponce v. CJC Enters., Inc., Award No. 3337 (Carroll, 1997); Sea Tow Servs. Central Conn. v. M/V Finesse, Award No. 3334 (Carroll, 1997); Sea Tow Servs. Central Conn. v. Imperial M/V, No. 3292 (Carroll, 1996); Sea Tow Servs. Central Conn. v. M/V Azza, No. 3205 (Carroll, Dooley, Laing, 1995); Sea Tow Servs. Central Conn. v. M/Y Toscana, No. 3178 (Busch, Conway, Homicki, 1995); Sea Tow Servs. Central Conn. v. Drabaski, No. 3047 (Arnold, Cavooris, Winer, 1994). As noted earlier, each award is reproduced in the LEXIS Admrty Library/USAwds File.
23. Among the tasks that remain are: 1) conducting additional education programs among boaters and salvors; 2) refining the forms and rules in the light of actual experience; and, 3) achieving the acceptance of the maritime bench and bar. By far, however, the single most important task to be undertaken is ensuring that all salvage arbitration awards are readily accessible. At present, only the SMA's awards are available on LEXIS. See supra note 17. It is to be hoped that BOAT/US will take early steps to arrange for dissemination of its awards and that the MMAC will revise its unfortunate policy of secrecy and agree to publish its awards.