4. Perils of the Sea.—
Almost every contract in respect of employment of the ship contains an express or implied exception of perils of the seas. This provides an exemption of liability on account of losses caused by these perils. These casualties cannot be accurately defined. The expression denotes accidents peculiarly incident to navigation, whether on lake, river, or the deep sea, not attributable to any human agency or intervention. It is rather more comprehensive than the "acts of God," but by no means includes all the dangers which may occur while journeying on the sea. Collision is a peril of the sea if it occurs without fault of either ship but not if by reason of the negligence of the carrying ship. Tempests, rocks, shoals, icebergs and other obstacles are within the expression; so are incursions of sea water, which damage the goods, as well as such bad weather as prevents ordinary ventilation and causes the cargo to heat and sweat. Where the peril is the proximate cause of the loss, the shipowner is excused.
5. Fire.—
Sec. 4282, U. S. Rev. St., is as follows:
No owner of any vessel shall be liable to answer for or make good to any person any loss or damage which may happen to any merchandise whatsoever, which shall be shipped, taken in, or put on board any such vessel, by reason or by means of any fire happening to or on board the vessel, unless such fire is caused by the design or neglect of such owner.
It will be noticed that while this statute provides complete protection against fire on shipboard it does not protect against liability for damage by fire occurring on shore. To cover this it is common to insert in the contract of carriage an exemption from loss "before loading in the ship or after unloading." Such an exception is upheld by the courts where fire is not attributable to the neglect of the owner of the ship. Such a case was that of Constable v. National Steamship Co., 154 U. S. 51, where goods were delivered on the pier of the Steamship Company and injured by fire before they were laden. The Court held that the clause in the bill of lading, excepting loss by fire "before loading in the ship or after unloading," was a valid defense.
6. Restraint of Princes.—
The contract usually contains a provision exempting the shipowner from liability for damage due to "restraint of princes." This quaint phrase means any kind of governmental action which interrupts the voyage, or otherwise prevents the performance of the contract. These restraints occur most often during war, although they may happen in time of peace, as in the case of detention in quarantine. If the restraint results from some action taken by the shipowner, such as the taking on of contraband goods, the clause will not relieve him from liability.
A simple illustration of the restraint of princes clause appears in Allanwilde Transport Corp. v. Vacuum Co., 248 U. S. 377, where a sailing vessel, the Allanwilde, was chartered to the libellants for the transportation of a cargo of oil and nails to Rochefort, France. The freight was prepaid. She started on the voyage and while she was at sea the government prohibited sailing vessels departing from the United States on voyages which would carry them through the war zone. The vessel ran into bad weather and was obliged to put back to the United States for repairs. By reason of the governmental order she did not resume her voyage. The owners of the cargo libeled the vessel to recover the prepaid freight. They also presented a claim for damages. The Court held that the restraint of princes clause of the charter party was a valid defense to the suit. Thus the vessel retained the freight which had been prepaid, although the voyage did not take place, and the cargo-owners did not recover their damages.