Hiernaux v. M/V Queen City

MARSH, District Judge.

This is an admiralty action involving a determination of whether or not there was fault on the part of the respondent, The Ohio River Company, which caused the sinking of M/V Charleroi, owned by the plaintiff, Richard Hiernaux. The sinking occurred in the Ohio River near Wheeling, West Virginia, at approximately midnight on the evening of September 22, 1963.

*512At all relevant times, the Charleroi was a diesel-powered towboat with twin screws and two diesel engines. It was approximately 56 feet long and 15 feet wide, with a hull approximately 5 feet in depth, and a freeboard…