United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit

____________ FILED December 4, 2023 No. 22-30261 Lyle W. Cayce ____________ Clerk

Marquette Transportation Company Gulf-Inland, L.L.C.,

Plaintiff—Appellee,

versus

Navigation Maritime Bulgare JSC, incorrectly identified as Navigation Maritime Bulgarea; Balkan Navigation, Limited,

Defendants—Appellants/Cross-Appellees,

versus

Robert Johnson,

Third Party Defendant—Appellee/Cross-Appellant. ______________________________

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana USDC No. 2:19-CV-10927 ______________________________

Before King, Jones, and Duncan, Circuit Judges. Edith H. Jones, Circuit Judge: This action arises from a collision between the M/V STRANDJA and the M/V KIEFFER E. BAILEY on the Mississippi River. A jury found that Case: 22-30261 Document: 00516988947 Page: 2 Date Filed: 12/04/2023

No. 22-30261

the owner of the KIEFFER E. BAILEY was not negligent with respect to the collision and awarded that vessel’s owner $114,000 damages after finding that the STRANDJA’s owner and manager were negligent and that the STRANDJA’s river pilot was grossly negligent. The noteworthy holding here is that Louisiana law governs the burden of proof for the pilot’s error. Accordingly, we AFFIRM in part, VACATE in part, and REMAND for a new trial as to the M/V STRANDJA and its owners and pilot Johnson. I. BACKGROUND On the morning of January 3, 2019, the STRANDJA was anchored at the New Orleans General Anchorage, which is situated along the western side of the Mississippi River. The ship was facing upstream and was secured by both a port and starboard anchor.1 In preparation to return to sea, Captain Robert Johnson, a Louisiana state commissioned river pilot, boarded the vessel as its compulsory pilot. He requested that the STRANDJA’s master, Captain Kiril Karapanov, instruct the crew to heave the port anchor. The process of heaving the port anchor at first pulled the ship’s bow landward, to port. This landward movement was a natural result of the strain placed on the port anchor’s chain during the heaving process. When the port anchor released from the river bottom, the strain shifted to the starboard anchor, which had not yet been raised. This shift in strain caused the bow to change course and begin drifting to starboard, into the middle of the river. As the crew began heaving the starboard anchor, the drift to starboard continued. The ship ultimately drifted approximately 300 feet outside the general anchorage.

_____________________ 1 With the bow as the point of reference, “port” means the left side of the ship and “starboard” means the right.

2 Case: 22-30261 Document: 00516988947 Page: 3 Date Filed: 12/04/2023

No. 22-30261

While the STRANDJA was heaving anchors, the KIEFFER E. BAILEY—an inland tugboat pushing a tow of six loaded barges—was headed downriver. It was navigating near the center of the river in pr