§3771 Injuries in locks of canal; adjustment and payment of claims

Summary

The Commission must promptly settle and pay for harm to ships, their cargo, crew, or passengers when the injury was mainly caused by negligence or fault of a U.S. officer or employee acting on the job in connection with operating the Panama Canal, but only as allowed by section 3779(b) and by subsection (b) below. If the ship, its master, crew, or passengers were partly at fault, the payment is reduced in the same share. No payment is allowed for damage to anything that sticks out beyond the hull, whether permanent or temporary. A vessel is treated as under U.S. control from when the first towing line is fastened aboard before entering the lock until the towing lines are cast off upon, or just before, leaving the lock chamber. No claim will be paid unless it is filed with the Commission within one year after the injury or by November 18, 1998, whichever is later. If the ship was not under the control of a Panama Canal pilot when the damage happened, the Commission may pay no more than $50,000 on that claim, unless the injury was caused by another ship that was under the control of a Panama Canal pilot. The rules in subsections (c) through (e) of section 3761 apply to such claims.