Ask an Attorney

LEGAL ADVICE ask a maritime attorney

By David Weil

2C

Does 2C DARKold-time salvage law still apply? BKGND

QUESTION: I came across a rigid inflatable dinghy during a return trip from Catalina last weekend. The boat was drifting with no other boats in sight, so we tied the bow line off on our boat and towed it home. I assume the boat broke loose from the boat that was towing it, but now that we have it at our dock, we are left with the question of what to do with it. I understand that under old-time salvage law I might be able to keep the boat since I saved it, but I’m not sure if this is still the law. If I can’t keep it, am I entitled to any compensation? What are my rights?

David Weil is the managing attorney at Weil & Associates (www. weilmaritime.com) in Seal Beach. He is certified as a Specialist in Admiralty and Maritime Law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization and a “Proctor in Admiralty” Member of the Maritime Law Association of the United States, an adjunct professor of Admiralty Law, and former legal counsel to the California Yacht Brokers Association. If you have a maritime law question for Weil, he can be contacted at 562-799-5508, through his website at www.weilmaritime.com, or via email at dweil@weilmaritime.com.

BW ANSWER: Salvage is an area of maritime law that is often misunderstood by the yachting community. The short answers to our reader’s questions are (1) there is no law, old-time or otherwise, that would allow our reader to keep a boat that he found drifting; and (2) yes, he is entitled to some compensation. “Salvage” is frequently confused with “towing,” since both services are frequently performed by a towing company and both may be rendered to a vessel in peril. Salvage is distinguished, however, by the “no cure - no pay” nature of the services. In a salvage job, the company gets paid nothing unless the vessel is successfully recovered. If the company gets paid

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