Houston Barge Line, Inc. v. American Commercial Lines

MEMORANDUM OPINION

KEADY, Chief Judge.

On February 13, 1973, at 2:45 p. m., with a visibility of at least 4 miles in a stretch of navigable water in the lower Mississippi River 3/4ths of a mile wide, a near head-on collision occurred between the tows of ascending and descending towing vessels being operated by experienced, veteran Mississippi river pilots. Readily agreeing there was navigational error, each pilot seeks to cast blame upon the other, but we are compelled to hold that neither is free of major contributing fault. Quite incredibly, an unusually wide navigable channel was a special…