## Facts

- A tug owned by Falgout Brothers, Inc. discovered the S/V *Pangaea*, a derelict sailboat, adrift in open waters between Florida and Cuba while towing a barge from Puerto Rico to Mobile, Alabama.
- The tug’s crew voluntarily took the derelict sailboat in tow and successfully brought it to the Port of Mobile.
- Falgout filed an in rem admiralty action against the vessel seeking a salvor’s award and obtained arrest of the vessel to enforce a maritime salvage lien.
- The court ordered publication notice; no owner or other claimant appeared or filed a claim by the deadline.
- Falgout moved for default judgment seeking, in substance, an award of outright title to the vessel “free and clear” of other liens or claims, subject to payment of marshal and custodial costs.
- The court required further submissions, including evidence of the vessel’s value and briefing on whether crew members must share in any salvage award and whether sale proceeds were a more appropriate remedy than transferring title.

## Issues

1. Whether the law of salvage or the law of finds governs recovery of a derelict vessel when no owner appears and the salvor seeks title.
2. Whether the proper remedy is transfer of title to the salvor or a monetary salvage award secured by a maritime lien and satisfied from a judicial sale.
3. Whether crew members of the salving vessel have a right to share in the salvage award and how any award should be allocated.

## Decision

- The court granted default judgment in favor of Falgout on liability for a salvage award.
- The court held that the law of salvage, not the law of finds, applied.
- The court denied Falgout’s request for outright title to the S/V *Pangaea* as the salvage remedy.
- The court awarded a monetary salvage award, secured by a salvage lien, to be paid from the proceeds of a judicial sale of the vessel.
- The court recognized that crew members who performed the salvage services were entitled to share in the salvage award and required the award to be allocated consistently with that principle.

## Legal Principles

- Salvage law generally governs recovery of derelict vessels absent clear proof of intentional abandonment; the law of finds is applied narrowly in admiralty.
- Under salvage law, the salvor acquires no ownership interest in the property saved; the remedy is a reward reflecting the value saved and the danger, risk, skill, and effort involved, typically secured by a maritime lien.
- A valid salvage claim requires: (1) marine peril, (2) voluntary service not compelled by duty or contract, and (3) success in saving property, in whole or in part.
- The traditional salvage remedy is a money award satisfied from the res (often through a court-ordered sale), rather than vesting title in the salvor; title awards are exceptional and generally require strong evidence of abandonment or comparable circumstances.
- Salvage awards are commonly shared among those who contributed to the salvage services, including crew members, subject to equitable allocation.

## Conclusion

The court treated the rescue of the derelict S/V *Pangaea* as a classic salvage case, entered default judgment for the salvor, rejected an outright transfer of title, and instead ordered a monetary salvage award—shared with the tug’s crew—secured by a maritime lien and payable from the proceeds of a judicial sale.


Falgout Bros., Inc. v. S/V Pangaea, 966 F. Supp. 1143 (S.D. Ala. 1997)