The Great Steamship Escape
To avoid being seized by creditors after a collision, the steamer Premier was secretly floated and moved across the border into British waters.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The steamer Premier, which collided with the Willamette a few weeks ago, is currently at the Esquimalt dry dock. Following the collision, families of the victims and the ship's owners were poised to file civil actions against the Premier for damages. Realizing the danger of legal attachment, the owners allowed the vessel to remain submerged, leading the public to believe she was unrecoverable. On the eve of an election, the sea cocks were closed, and the steamer was refloated. Captain G. Hoy moved the vessel to Victoria, British Columbia, effectively placing her beyond the jurisdiction of American courts before a United States marshal could seize her.
“The Premier did not come into the harbor but succeeded in getting to Victoria, out of jurisdiction of the American courts.”
The maneuver of moving assets across international borders to dodge local litigation remains a common theme in corporate maritime and financial law. This incident highlights the historical friction between Seattle's maritime industry and the legal consequences of the 1890s shipping boom.
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