§ 6753. Preliminary.-This Title will concern itself chiefly with the relative rights and duties of vessels in navigable waters; the other phases of maritime liability having received attention in earlier chapters that between the vessel and its patrons in the Titles CARRIERS OF PASSENGERS BY LAND AND WATER and CARRIERS OF GOODS AND ANIMALS; and that between the vessel and its navigators in the Title MASTER AND SERVANT. § 6754. The Various Navigation Rules.-Comprehensive and uniform rules designed to prevent collisions between vessels have been enacted into laws by the various maritime powers of the world. The waters bearing the commerce of this country have been placed in these four different divisions: First, the high seas; second, all harbors and inland waters except the Great Lakes and western rivers and the St. Lawrence west of Montreal; third, the Great Lakes, and tributaries as far east as Montreal; fourth, the Red River of the North and rivers emptying into the Gulf of Mexico; and rules suited to each class have been adopted. The rules governing navigation on the high seas, known as the International Rules, are the outgrowth of the English Orders of Sailing of 1863, which collected and codified the navigation rules then recognized by seamen. These rules have been adopted by practically all of the maritime nations of the world, and are the paramount law on the subject." 1U. S. Rev. Stat. 1901, tit. 48, ch. 5, pp. 2863-2875 (Act of Cong. Aug. 19, 1890, ch. 802, as amended in 1894 and 1896), designated as the International Rules. 2 U. S. Rev. Stat. 1901, tit. 48, ch. 5, pp. 2875-2886 (Act of Cong. June 7, 1897, ch. 4), designated as Rules for Harbors, Rivers and Inland Waters. 3 U. S. Rev. Stat. 1901, tit. 48, ch. 5, pp. 2886-2893 (Act of Cong. Feb. 8, 1895, ch. 64). U. S. Rev. Stat. 1901, § 4233, as amended 1893, 1897. See The Albert Dumois, 177 U. S. 240, for an historical review of these rules. 6755. Other Regulations.-The foregoing rules are supplemented by a variety of local regulations prescribing rules for anchor grounds, use of wharves, lights, etc.; and these regulations, where not opposed to the Federal navigation rules, are equally binding on navigators. In addition to the preceding rules, and subject to the same qualifications as to validity, are the regulations of the Board of Superrising Inspectors, a body created by Congress and empowered to establish regulations for steam-vessels.8 §6756. Local Customs and Usages.-A local maritime custom or usage will prevail where not in conflict with the general navigation rules; but the existence of such a custom, to be binding, must be brought home to the knowledge of mariners generally, including those sailing vessels carrying a foreign flag.10 'The John Fraser, 21 How. (U. 510; The City of Washington, 92 U. S.) 187. 'The W. H. Beaman, 45 Fed. Rep. 128 (vessels in East River to keep to the middle of the stream); The City of Macon, 51 Fed. Rep. 949 (speed of vessels passing); The Clover, 1 Low. (U. S.) 343 (requiring vessels in Boston Harbor to rig in jib-booms when lying at the end of a wharf); The Rhode Island, Olc. Adm. (U. S.) 505 (rule forbidding overtaking vessel to pass within distance of twenty yards); The Gazelle, 1 W. Rob. 471. 'U. S. Rev. Stat. 1901, § 4412. See The Grand Republic, 16 Fed. Rep. 424 (valid where not opposed to navigation rules); The B. B. Saunders, 19 Fed. Rep. 118 (valid where not opposed to navigation rules); The Greenpoint, 31 Fed. Rep. 231. 'The James Brown, 52 Fed. Rep. S. 31. If there is a custom which permits Sound steamers to claim exemption from the operation of article 16 of the International Regulations when approaching the ferries in the East River on the ebb-tide, such custom is opposed to law and cannot prevail: The Pequot, 30 Fed. Rep. 839. A custom for ferryboats to yield their privilege in crossing to larger steamers, or of the latter to exact it, and take the right of way, contrary to the rules of navigation, is not a legal justification to a steamship for a failure to recognize the right of precedence of a ferryboat, resulting in a collision: The Mohegan, 91 Fed. Rep. 810. 10 The Victory, 63 Fed. Rep. 631; s. c. modified, 68 Fed. Rep. 395; Georgian Bay Nav. Co. v. The Shenandoah and Crete, 8 Can. Exch. 1. |