Coastal Iron Works, Inc. v. Geophysical

JERRE S. WILLIAMS, Circuit Judge:

On December 9, 1977, a fire occurred aboard the M/V DABNEY E. PETTY, a ship equipped for geophysical exploration owned by the Petty Ray Geophysical Division of Geosource, Inc. (“Petty Ray”). The DABNEY PETTY had been undergoing repairs in a shipyard owned by Coastal Iron Works, Inc. (“Coastal”), at the time. This case represents the culmination of attempts by the interested parties to sort out responsibility for that fire which occurred almost a decade ago.

Soon after the fire, Coastal sought a declaratory judgment to limit its liability arising out of the fire…