Peralta Shipping Corp. v. Smith & Johnson (Shipping) Corp.

Justice Blacken, with whom Justice Marshall joins,

dissenting.

The admiralty jurisdiction of the federal courts extends generally to a transaction that “‘relates to ships and vessels, masters and mariners, as the agents of commerce.’” Kossick v. United Fruit Co., 365 U. S. 731, 736 (1961), quoting 1 E. Benedict, Admiralty 131 (6th ed. 1940). Notwithstanding the broad sweep of the admiralty jurisdiction, this Court, since the time of its single-page opinion in Minturn v. Maynard, 17 How. 477 (1855), has refused to extend admiralty jurisdiction to disputes involving general agency contracts that…