SS Marine Sulphur Queen - Litigation

Litigation

The loss of the ship was subject of a lawsuit filed within weeks of the sinking by relatives of the crew members seeking 2.5 million dollars in damages under two specific federal acts (the Jones Act, 46 U.S.C. § 688; and the Death on the High Seas Act, 46 U.S.C. § 761), based upon maritime laws regarding the unseaworthiness of a vessel. Marine Sulphur Transport Corporation (the owners of the ship), and Marine Transport Lines, Inc. (demise charterer) petitioned for exoneration or at least a limitation of liability. The amount of damages sought would grow to $20 million by 1969.

The United States Court of Appeals (2nd Circuit) concluded that:

• the ship was not structurally sound as a result of the sulphur tank conversion;
• the tank was centered too narrowly within the ship resulting in a high center of gravity, which meant that during a roll in heavy seas, it would take longer to recover.
• the ship was not properly inspected nor maintained by the owners;

In its 25 April 1972 ruling the court denied the exoneration of the owners and found them liable in regard to the unseaworthiness of the ship. It awarded damages to the crew relatives, but denied them punitive damages; the reason for it, as stated in the Coast Guard report, was that no one knew how the ship was lost, and in the absence of the remains of the vessel, they could go no further:

"The wrongful death claimants therefore sustained their burden of proving unseaworthiness and there remained only the issue of whether or not one or more of the conditions of unseaworthiness or some other agency caused the disaster. The court found in explicit terms that 'no one knows how the ship was lost.' The resolution of the question of liability will, under the circumstances, be determined by the allocation of the burden of proof on the causation issue, the existence of a rebuttable presumption and whether or not that presumption has been met."