561 Findings of Fact satisfactory, plaintiff should execute and return them as promptly as possible. Upon plaintiff's request that action on the charters be deferred until a later date, defendant wrote plaintiff on July 5, 1943, that this procedure was agreeable to it but stated that if plaintiff so desired it could formally reject the charters and receive payment of 75 percent of the amount offered by the Government. Having failed to hear anything further from plaintiff regarding the matter, the defendant again wrote plaintiff on March 23, 1944, requesting advice from it as to whether or not it would execute the charters. The defendant's letter stated that in the event plaintiff did not see fit to enter into the agreements prompt steps would be taken to pay plaintiff 75 percent of the charter hire as determined by the Government. Plaintiff replied by letter of June 5, 1944, which stated that plaintiff's action on the charters had been delayed because of the absence of plaintiff's president in Alaska. Plaintiff's letter read in part as follows: When we last discussed this matter with Mr. Most he was unwilling to execute the charters as prepared, believing the amounts set forth for charter hire to be quite inadequate. However, he withheld final decision on the subject at that time and we shall not be able to discuss it with him in sufficient detail again until he returns from Alaska in August. So far as the Company is concerned, it does not immediately require any portion of the money to which it might ultimately be entitled, and consequently from its standpoint there is no reason that the matter should not be delayed for a few more months. However, if it is imperative, from the standpoint of the War Shipping Administration, that some disposition be made of this matter immediately, we do not wish to obstruct you in the taking of any action which you feel is required under the circumstances, and accordingly are writing you this letter to advise you of the general situation. On behalf of the Copper River Packing Company we further wish to make it clear that it is not waiving any rights which it may have with respect to compensation for the use of the boats in question by the Government. Findings of Fact 118 C. Cls. On July 12, 1944, defendant acknowledged receipt of plaintiff's letter and stated that action on the two vessels would be held in abeyance until further word was received from plaintiff. Plaintiff took no further action on the matter until February 28, 1946. On that date, it wrote the defendant a letter stating that plaintiff desired to renew consideration of the question with a view to arriving at a mutually satisfactory agreement on the amount to be paid by the defendant for the use of the vessels during the time they were in its possession. Plaintiff's letter read, in part, as follows: For your further information, the Company is not willing to accept the charter hire set forth in the three charter agreements which were submitted to it in May and June of 1943. It is our thought that before electing to take 75% of the charter hire called for in those agreements, as suggested by your letter of July 5, 1943, it might be well to attempt to reach a mutually agreeable figure by preliminary discussion so that the whole matter could be disposed of at one time. Following some negotiations between the parties, plaintiff submitted to defendant a written offer wherein plaintiff agreed to accept $27,713.01 for the Nellie Juan and $23,764.43 for the Airdale in full settlement of all claims arising out of defendant's requisition and use of the vessels. This offer was rejected by the defendant on April 23, 1946, on the ground that the amount claimed was in excess of just compensation as computed in accordance with provisions of Section 902 of the Merchant Marine Act of 1936 and the rules prescribed by the Advisory Board on Just Compensation. In its letter of rejection, the defendant offered to pay plaintiff charter hire on the Nellie Juan at the rate of $18.63- per day for the period of use, plus $10,688.01 for repairs to the vessel and also offered to pay plaintiff charter hire on the Airdale at the rate of $14.31 per day for the period of use, plus $8,762.73 for repairs to the vessel. The record does not disclose what transpired between the parties after plaintiff received defendant's letter of April 561 Findings of Fact 23, 1946; but the parties have agreed that thereafter the plaintiff made diligent efforts to compromise its claim against the defendant with respect to the two vessels and that these efforts were not successful. No payment has been made to plaintiff by defendant on account of the requisition and use of the Airdale or the Nellie Juan. 4. The Airdale, Official Number 214966, was a combination freight and towing vessel with wood hull and superstructure of 55.31 gross and 37 net registered tonnage. She was built at Gig Harbor, Washington, in 1917, and was purchased by plaintiff in 1918 for $14,000. When requisitioned, her length was 70.6 feet, her beam 15.9 feet, and her depth 7.5 feet. When the Airdale was constructed, her length was 58.6 feet. In 1936, the vessel was cut in two and 12 feet added to the length of her hull, thereby increasing her total registered length to 70.6 feet. The cost of this work and other work performed in rebuilding the vessel at that time was $14,000. When requisitioned, the Airdale was powered with a rebuilt Superior Diesel engine of 175 horsepower, which was installed in 1939 at a cost of $9,000. Diesel engines have a useful life of from 10 to 12 years, and at the end of that use have very little salvage value. On September 7, 1942, the Nellie Juan, Official Number 227273, was a combination freight and towing vessel with wood hull and superstructure of 88.90 gross and 60 net registered tonnage. Her length was 74.1 feet, her beam 19 feet, and her depth 9 feet. The Nellie Juan was built for plaintiff at Gig Harbor, Washington, in 1928 at a cost of $26,000, In 1936, the stern section was cut down below the water line, new decking installed aft, and the vessel rebuilt at a cost of $14,000. In 1937, different decks, a turntable, and power rollers were installed on the vessel to fit her for sardine fishing at a cost of $6,000. In 1940, the vessel was rebuilt from the center forward at a cost of $14,000. Included in this work was the installation of new planking on the deck, rebuilding the deckhouse, and relining the engine. When she was requisitioned, the Nellie Juan was powered with an Enterprise Diesel engine with 200 horsepower which, along with new engine room fittings, was installed in 1937 at a cost of $16,000. Findings of Fact 118 C. Cls. At the time they were requisitioned, both vessels were fully equipped for navigation and in good condition. 5. The plaintiff operated a salmon cannery at Nellie Juan, Alaska, and in connection therewith used the two cannery tenders involved here, generally during the period from April until the early part of September in each year. The salmon fishing season lasts from about July 1 until August 10, a period of from 30 to 35 days. From April to July, the company's operations consist of installing fish traps and making ready the cannery, gear, and equipment for the fishing season. During August and until about the middle of September, the traps are taken down, materials stored away, and operations closed for the winter. The salmon packed by plaintiff are caught in fish traps or by purse seine boats. The Airdale and Nellie Juan were used to haul fish from the traps and the purse seiners, both of which were generally located at distances of from 25 to 75 miles from the cannery. The Airdale was capable of carrying a load of from fifty thousand to fifty-five thousand fish, and the Nellie Juan was capable of carrying seventy thousand fish. Before and after the fishing season, the vessels were used to haul supplies to and from the fish trap locations in connection with the erection and dismantling of the traps each year. Occasionally they were also used for carrying cargo from Seattle on their way to the cannery at the opening of a new season. Ordinarily, the two cannery tenders were out of use from the middle of September in one year to April of the succeeding year. During the winter season, they were usually laid up in the water at the cannery in Alaska, but when in need of repairs were returned to Seattle where the repairs were done and the vessel laid up at that point until the following April. Plaintiff's vessels were laid up uncovered. They were returned to Seattle for repair once every two or three years. The Nellie Juan was suitable for sardine fishing and was engaged under charter in that business at Monterey, California, during the winter seasons of 1937 and 1938. The sardine fishing season lasts from September until near the end of December in each year. The Airdale was too narrow 561 Findings of Fact for sardine fishing and was never placed in that service. Except for the two winters during which the Nellie Juan was under charter in Monterey, the two vessels were idle during each winter season until they were requisitioned by the defendant. 6. In 1942 and prior years, the prevailing rates for chartering cannery tenders on a bareboat basis in the Pacific Northwest were based on a vessel's size, carrying capacity, condition, the horsepower of her engines and her suitability for the trade in which she was to be engaged. The Airdale and the Nellie Juan were built for and were especially adapted to the salmon fishing and packing trade, but the Nellie Juan could also be used for sardine fishing. In 1939, the prevailing or market rates for charter hire, on a bareboat basis, of cannery tenders for use in Alaskan waters during the salmon fishing season were $25 to $35 per day for vessels comparable to the Airdale, and $40 to $45 a day for vessels comparable to the Nellie Juan. Beginning in 1940 and continuing through 1942, there was a general rise on the Pacific Coast in the cost of vessel construction, maintenance and repair, and a corresponding increase in the rates of charter hire for cannery tenders and other vessels. The prevailing or market rates for charter hire on a bareboat basis for cannery tenders for use in the Alaskan waters during the salmon fishing season of 1942 were $45 to $50 per day for vessels comparable to the Airdale and $65 to $75 a day for vessels comparable to the Nellie. Juan. Early in 1942, the War Shipping Administration commenced requisitioning nearly all the small vessels that were available on the Pacific Coast, including fishing boats of all kinds, tugs, and harbor craft. By the fall of 1942, the requisitioning program had so diminished the supply of fishing vessels on the Pacific Coast and in Alaska that very few were available or obtainable for private business. In 1942, the prevailing rates for charter hire for vessels comparable to the Airdale and Nellie Juan represented an increase of from 50 to 60 percent over the rates paid for chartering the same vessels in 1939. The greater portion |