Admiralty law recognizes that seafaring is a dangerous occupation, and thus creates legal obligations of shipowners to safeguard the lives of seamen. Pursuant to the doctrine of “seaworthiness,” “[a] shipowner has a duty, at the commencement of a voyage, to furnish his employees with a vessel that is seaworthy in itself, and seaworthy as respects its appurtenances and appliances.”1 To be “seaworthy,” a vessel must not only be fit for the intended voyage, but also be properly equipped and under the control of a competent master.
Admiralty law also recognizes the mysteries of the sea and that ships may be lost with no evidentiary trace. As a result, maritime law has developed a rule that if a vessel is lost in calm seas it is presumed to be unseaworthy.2 But can a vessel be found “unseaworthy” if it sinks under mysterious circumstances and is never found?
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