Between November 15-17, 1994, in the Atlantic ocean several miles East of the Florida coast, amid the howling winds and mountainous seas driven by Hurricane Gordon, events unfolded that were to culminate almost four years later in the largest salvage award ever granted. The first-hand story of this historic (and heroic) acheivement, is told by Captain Skip Strong and writer Twain Braden in their recently published book “In Peril: A Daring Decision, A Captain’s Resolve, and the Salvage that Made History.”

Skip Strong was the Captain of the S/T CHERRY VALLEY, a 688 foot-long oil tanker operated by Keystone Shipping. The fully loaded ship, its 25-man crew, and its cargo of 10 million gallons of #6 fuel oil, were in transit from Good Hope, Louisiana to Jacksonville, Florida, when they began to hear distress calls from other ships caught in the vortex of Hurricane Gordon. One of those vessels was the J.A. ORGERON, a 114 foot-long, 3,500 horsepower oceangoing tug and its 5-man crew. The J.A. ORGERON had experienced worsening engine problems that had eventually rendered it powerless to prevent the barge it was towing from dragging it backwards toward the deadly coral reefs of Bethel Shoals, about 70 miles south of its final destination – Cape Canaveral. “Mayday” calls from the J.A. ORGERON were answered by the Coast Guard, however, due to the howling storm, none of its vessels or aircraft could be sent to the rescue. Finding that the CHERRY VALLEY was the only fit vessel in the vicinity, the Coast Guard asked Captain Strong to respond to the J.A. ORGERON and to render “any assistance possible.” In the true spirit of the sea, the CHERRY VALLEY altered course.

The barge POSEIDON had been specially modified by its owner, NASA, to carry a single cargo – the external fuel cell that powered the Space Shuttle into orbit. The fuel cells were built in Michoud, Louisiana, where each cell could take up to four years to construct. When the Mayday was sent, the POSEIDON was carrying the ET-70, the external fuel cell scheduled to power the space shuttle ATLANTIS to its rendezvous with the MIR space station. The price tag from Martin Marietta to NASA for ET-70 was over $51 million. During the salvage case that followed, the value of ET-70 was a central issue. NASA claimed it could have replaced ET-70 for only $19 million, while accounting experts claimed the real value exceeded $90 million.

Drawing from his years of experience at sea, Captain Strong tells the saga of how he and his crew planned and executed the successful salvage of both the J.A. ORGERON and its precious cargo, at great risk to the CHERRY VALLEY and to Keystone Shipping. Not only could the ship have been lost, but the company would have been financially ruined had the CHERRY VALLEY pierced its single ¾” hull on the coral reef and created an environmental disaster that would have dwarfed the EXXON VALDEZ by comparison.

Following his description of the harrowing, but successful salvage operation (and several other maritime disasters simultaneously occurring during Hurricane Gordon), Captain Strong changes the focus of the book from action at sea, to the subsequent salvage litigation in the U.S. District Court in New Orleans, between the United States Government, the owners of the J.A. ORGERON, and the owner and crew of the CHERRY VALLEY. Captain Strong describes the parties’ legal wrangling, strategies, and the judicial decisions rendered by both the District Court and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in a way that only an insider can. His in-depth analysis of how the courts considered the various BLACKWALL factors in rendering their decisions demonstrated a complete and accurate understanding of the legal proceedings. Captain Strong focused upon the most important factors including the extreme peril, extraordinary skill exhibited by the crew of the CHERRY VALLEY, avoidance of environmental damage, and high value of the ET-70, barge and tug that would have been totally destroyed without the prompt and skillful salvage efforts of the CHERRY VALLEY. In describing the decision on appeal, Captain Strong emphasized the Fifth Circuit’s recognition that altruistic principles and Good Samaritanism are their own reward, however “It is profit, not principle, that is the driving force behind the law of salvage, and the question for the court is simply what amount of profit is fitting in the case before it.” Captain Strong also gives the reader a unique glimpse into the manner in which the crew and vessel owner split the $4,736,872 salvage award between themselves, and then the manner in which the crew divided their share of the reward 25 ways.

In Peril is a book that should be read by every professional salvor and maritime lawyer. It is an exciting and well-written primer on how a successful pure salvage effort should be handled before, during, and after the peril has passed. In Peril is an easy 252 pages in length, with several helpful photos and charts, and may be ordered from your favorite internet bookstore. You will be glad you read it.