5. Duty of Tow.—
The vessels in tow must be properly manned and equipped and carefully follow the tug. They must be vigilant to observe all orders and signals. They must be ready, in case of emergencies, to cast loose from the tug and each other, if thereby collision or stranding may be avoided.
In the Marie Palmer, 191 Fed. 79, above cited, the tug defended the suit brought by the schooner on the ground that the schooner was unseaworthy when taken in tow. The unseaworthy condition of a tow is a good defense to such a suit if that fact be concealed from the tug, but not where the condition of the tow is known to the tug.
Equally ineffective is the plea that the master of the tug did not know the extremities to which the schooner had been reduced before he undertook the towage service. The Palmer was found storm bound, at anchor, in Lookout Bight. Had she been entirely seaworthy under her sail power, the contract to tow her would have been superfluous. These facts were known to the master of the tug. But, if this were not sufficient, that officer must have taken notice of the vital fact that her storm tossed condition had been passed upon by an official board of survey, and that body, after careful examination, had found that she might proceed with her voyage under tow. It was optional with the captain of the tow boat to accept that finding, and take the tow. Certainly it put him upon notice of inquiry, and he did not hesitate to take the tow as in the condition in which the board of survey found her.