Wilbur-Ellis Co. v. M/V Captayannis "S"

This admiralty action is to recover the value of cargo lost by reason of the stranding of the Greek ship M/V Captayannis at the mouth of the Columbia River. The facts are stated in the district court’s opinion appearing in 306 F.Supp. 866 (D.C.Ore.1969). The district court found that the ship was in many respects improperly equipped and incompetently manned, rendering it unseaworthy at the beginning of the voyage.1 Despite this finding the court entered judgment for the defendant shipowner, finding that the sole and proximate cause of the ship’s stranding was the master’s negligent decision…