## Facts

- Captain John E. Markakis, master of the S.S. Monarch Sun, sued in admiralty for a salvage award on behalf of himself and the Sun’s crew for assistance rendered to the S.S. Monarch Star.
- The Sun and the Star were sister Panamanian-flag passenger cruise ships (about 15,000 gross tons), owned by the same company and operated by the same agent.
- On January 10, 1977, the Star suffered an engine failure and blackout in the Old Bahama Channel off Cuba and became powerless.
- Later that night the Star’s emergency generator also failed, leaving the ship without power or lights and with only battery-operated radio capability until the next morning.
- The Star was adrift at night roughly 12–15 miles off the Cuban coast, with risks from weather, currents, and potential drift into Cuban territorial waters where Cuban warships were present.
- The vessels’ common agent instructed Markakis to alter course and render assistance; the Sun diverted from its own voyage and proceeded to the Star.
- On scene, Markakis and the Star’s captain arranged a transfer of the Star’s passengers and some crew, baggage, and provisions to the Sun using the Sun’s tenders.
- After completing the transfer, the Sun towed the powerless Star to a safer location to await tug assistance.
- At trial, Markakis abandoned the claim against the Sun (by then renamed S.S. Volendam) and proceeded only against the Star (renamed S.S. Veendam).

## Issues

1. Whether the Star was in “marine peril” sufficient to support a salvage award where disaster was not certain but danger was reasonably apprehended.
2. Whether the Sun’s assistance was “voluntary” for salvage purposes when the vessels shared common ownership/management and the Sun acted under the agent’s instructions.

## Decision

- The court found the Star was in marine peril because it was adrift at night without propulsion, lights, or reliable communications in potentially hazardous waters near Cuba.
- The court held the services were voluntary despite owner/agent instructions, because the Sun’s master and crew were not legally bound to undertake the particular extraordinary rescue operations performed.
- The court concluded the elements of salvage were satisfied (including success) and awarded salvage to Markakis and the Sun’s crew against the Star/Veendam.

## Legal Principles

- Marine peril exists when danger is reasonably apprehended; salvage does not require immediate or certain catastrophe.
- A powerless vessel adrift without lights and with limited communications in risky waters may be in marine peril even if not yet grounding or sinking.
- Voluntariness turns on legal obligation to render the specific aid; assistance may remain voluntary even if requested or directed by a common owner/agent.
- Common ownership is not, by itself, a categorical bar to a salvage award when salvors perform extraordinary services beyond ordinary employment duties and achieve a successful result.
- Admiralty law favors compensating successful salvors to encourage prompt and effective assistance to vessels in distress.

## Conclusion

The court awarded salvage because the disabled cruise ship faced appreciable danger while drifting without power near Cuba, and the rescuing ship’s crew acted voluntarily in performing extraordinary and successful rescue and towage services even though management directed the response.


Markakis v. S/S Volendam, 486 F. Supp. 1103 (S.D.N.Y. 1980)