Canal Barge Co., Inc. v. China Ocean Shipping Co.

The Elaine Jones was a towboat pulling barges southbound on the Mississippi River close to a point of land that jutted out into the river. The motor vessel Huatonghai was traveling northward on the river on the other side of the point. There was a custom of navigation on the Mississippi River, called the point-bend custom, under which northbound vessels would navigate close to points of land sticking out into the river and southbound vessels would navigate close to the bend in the river opposite points. Vessels could choose to follow different navigational procedures by agreement, however. The Elaine Jones agreed to pass the Huatonghai starboard-to-starboard, at the Huatonghai’s request, because of Huatonghai’s location in the river after it passed another towboat with barges. Passing the Huatonghai in this way required the Elaine Jones to move into the swiftest part of the current. The vessels passed each other safely, but the Elaine Jones could not control its barges in the current, and the barges then collided with a wharf and two moored vessels. The owner of the Elaine Jones, Canal Barge Co., Inc. (plaintiff) sued the owner of the Huatonghai, China Ocean Shipping Co. (defendant). The district court held that the Elaine Jones was one-third at fault and the Huatonghai was two-thirds at fault. China Ocean Shipping appealed, alleging that the court erred in not assessing a greater degree of liability to the Elaine Jones because the starboard-to-starboard pass was in accordance with the point-bend custom.