Lopes v. Liberian S.S. Ocean Daphne

J. SPENCER BELL, Circuit Judge.

The significant question raised by this appeal is whether certain sections of the Merchant Seamen’s Act1 apply where a foreign seaman ships aboard a foreign flag vessel which is owned and operated by a U. S. corporation. We think the answer must be “No”, because it was not the intent of Congress that *778these statutes should apply to foreign flag vessels using foreign crews, whether or not they are owned and operated by American citizens.

The libellant Lopes, a foreign seaman, shipped at Baltimore aboard the S. S. Ocean Daphne, which was registered under the laws of…