## Facts

- The M.V. PIONEER COMMANDER, a privately owned vessel, carried United States military cargo and bunkers valued at about $6.48 million.
- On August 13, 1977, the vessel grounded on a rocky ledge off northern Scotland; bottom plates cracked but watertight integrity remained initially intact.
- After unsuccessful efforts to refloat the ship with local assistance, the master requested professional salvage help.
- B.V. Bureau Wijsmuller, a Dutch professional towing and salvage company, responded and dispatched salvage tugs and equipment.
- The parties executed a Lloyd’s Standard Form “No Cure–No Pay” salvage agreement, making payment contingent on successful salvage.
- Wijsmuller undertook operations including deploying additional tugs, lightering fuel, adjusting ballast, and working in difficult weather with risks of further damage and pollution.
- The vessel was refloated on August 20, 1977, preserving the United States’ cargo and bunkers.
- Wijsmuller sued the United States in the Southern District of New York for a salvage award; the district court set a $500,000 award and added $135,000 as an equitable increase for delay and related economic effects, entering judgment for $635,000.
- Wijsmuller appealed seeking a higher award; the United States cross-appealed challenging, among other things, the additional $135,000.

## Issues

1. Whether the district court’s $500,000 salvage award properly applied general maritime salvage factors to the circumstances of the rescue.
2. Whether the district court could include an additional $135,000 equitable amount reflecting delay in payment and economic changes as part of the salvage award against the United States.

## Decision

- The Second Circuit affirmed the judgment.
- The court held the $500,000 salvage award fell within the district court’s broad discretion and was not clearly erroneous or an abuse of discretion.
- The court upheld the additional $135,000 as a permissible equitable component of the overall salvage award, so long as the final amount remained consistent with traditional salvage considerations.
- The court declined to increase the award on Wijsmuller’s cross-appeal and rejected the United States’ challenge to the equitable addition.

## Legal Principles

- Salvage awards are determined under general maritime law using established factors, including labor and skill, promptness and energy, risks to salvors and their equipment, the value of property employed and saved, and the degree of danger from which the property was rescued.
- Fixing the amount of a salvage award is committed largely to the trial court; appellate review is deferential and focuses on clear error or abuse of discretion.
- Professional salvors may receive more liberal awards to reflect specialized readiness, investment in equipment and crews, and the contingent risk assumed under “No Cure–No Pay” arrangements.
- A court may account for equitable considerations such as delay and economic changes within the salvage calculus, provided the award remains grounded in salvage factors and does not function as an improper substitute for barred or limited interest against the United States.

## Conclusion

The Second Circuit held that the district court reasonably applied traditional salvage criteria in awarding $500,000 for successful professional salvage of United States property and permissibly incorporated an additional $135,000 equitable amount tied to delay and economic effects, affirming the total $635,000 judgment.


B.V. Bureau Wijsmuller v. United States, 702 F.2d 333 (2d Cir. 1983)