THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, August 8, 1995 TAG: 9508080239
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARC DAVIS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines
It took the Coast Guard two years to unravel the area's worst maritime accident in recent memory. Now a federal judge will have to do it all over again.
This time, $9.5 million is at stake.
The question is: Who caused the 1990 collision of the freighters Neptune Jade and Columbus America in Chesapeake Bay on July 1, 1990?
The wreck of two huge container ships spewed about 30,000 gallons of oil into the Bay and Elizabeth River, fouling scores of boats and forcing a massive cleanup.
Last week, the owners of both ships simultaneously filed lawsuits against each other in Norfolk's federal court. Each accuses the other of causing the accident. Each seeks to seize the other's ship and sell it for damages.
The two sides have been trying to settle their differences for years, without success.
``We're still hopeful it will be settled. If not, a judge will have to decide it,'' said R. John Barrett, a Norfolk lawyer who represents the Columbus America's owner.
There is no single sticking point in the settlement talks, both sides say. The shipping companies don't agree on who caused the accident, much less how much money should change hands.
``The apportionment of fault is something the court certainly will have to decide,'' said R. Arthur Jett Jr., a Norfolk lawyer who represents the Neptune Jade's owner.
Unlike a car accident, this case will not be decided on the principle of contributory negligence - a Virginia tradition that says a driver cannot recover any damages if he is even 1 percent responsible for an accident.
Rather, this case is governed by maritime law, which apportions liability. If each ship is 50 percent responsible for the accident, then each will be liable for half the damages.
The Columbus America, a German ship, claims $7 million in damages, including damage to the ship itself, cargo, business interruption and pollution cleanup costs.
The Neptune Jade, a Singapore ship, claims $2.5 million in damages.
The accident happened in stormy weather, with visibility near zero, on the Chesapeake Bay north of Willoughby Spit and east of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, near the Thimble Shoal Channel.
A Coast Guard investigation concluded that the outbound Columbus America strayed into the path of the inbound Neptune Jade.
Pilot Richard L. Counselman Jr. was castigated for steering the Columbus America off-course. Pilot J.A. ``Jack'' Jones was credited with keeping the Neptune Jade on track.
Counselman never accepted the Coast Guard's conclusions. He said he changed the Columbus America's course to avoid three sailboats and a tugboat foundering in the squall, but had brought the ship back to its proper place in the channel before the crash.
At the time, Counselman said he was a victim of age discrimination - he was 67 and retired - and despaired that there would ever be a more thorough investigation.
``I've been sitting back and thinking that some sweet day it would be in federal court,'' Counselman said in 1992. ``But I don't think it's ever going to federal court.''
Now it has.
KEYWORDS: LAWSUIT OIL SPILL HAMPTON ROADS ACCIDENT by CNB