NASA paid the biggest salvage settlement in 1994

A story found in the 3 volume book set titled “Space Shuttle: Developing an Icon," describes the biggest salvage settlement at the time.

The event

The space shuttle external tank 70 (ET-70) was on board the barge Poseidon when Tropical Storm Gordon made the decision to make the trip from New Orleans to Cape Canaveral anything but ordinary in 1994. Furthermore, built by Martin Marietta (before it merged with Lockheed) at the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, Louisiana, the ET-70 rolled off the production line like many others previously. In addition, it was put onto the Pegasus' predecessor, the still-in-use barge Poseidon, and hauled to Florida's Kennedy Space Center to be added to the space shuttle stack. And on November 10, the 114-foot tug M/V J.A. Orgeron picked up Poseidon, who then sailed toward Florida. However, on that same day, Tropical Storm Gordon was named. It was the consequence of two depressions that had merged in the southwest Caribbean two days earlier. Additionally, Jamaica, Cuba, the Florida Keys, and Fort Meyers were all on Gordon's path. However, once Gordon was back over the Atlantic Ocean, it finally became the third named hurricane of the season. But in an unexpected move, things turned around. It initially threatened the Carolinas before weakening and eventually returning to land around Cape Canaveral. And then, Gordon eventually dissolved into a collection of insignificant thunderstorms. On another note, the captain of the Orgeron, with Poseidon in tow, radioed the US Coast Guard on November 14th, four days after leaving New Orleans, to let them know that they had an engine failure, were adrift, and ran the risk of striking aground in Bethel Shoals near Fort Pierce, FL. Unfortunately, the Coast Guard was unable to assist.

Cherry Valley came to the rescue

On its way to Jacksonville, Florida, the M/V Cherry Valley, a 44,000-ton oil tanker, had departed the port of Good Hope, Louisiana, traveling the same course as the Orgeron. And like any ship, the captain of Cherry Valley kept a close eye on the weather, including Gordon, which at this point had taken more than 1400 lives while sailing through the Caribbean. Moreover, the Cherry Valley was only 40 miles to the south when the Orgeron radioed their distress. Therefore, the Cherry Valley altered its course to head toward the Orgeron at the request of the Coast Guard to offer any assistance it could. Besides, one of the laws of the sea is that all ships must assist other ships in need. It's a practice that goes long back in the history of sailing. However, there is a caveat - the ship providing assistance is under no obligation to take any unnecessary risks. Hence, the Cherry Valley's captain might have simply declined to offer assistance, claiming that it would be too dangerous. The reason was that the Cherry Valley was at risk of becoming grounded along with the Orgeron and Poseidon because some areas of the shoal were only 28 feet deep and the draft of the fully loaded oil tanker was 35 feet. But being the excellent sailors they were, the Cherry Valley's crew gave it a shot anyhow, knowing that they could need help one day and would want someone to try for them.

More details

Fortunately, the Cherry Valley finally succeeded in securing lines to the Orgeron on the morning of November 15 and preventing Poseidon and them from running aground on the shoals after three failed attempts. Meanwhile, officials from NASA and Yowell International (the company hired to handle the travels from New Orleans to Florida) were working on an alternative mode of transportation while this was happening. They located the tug in South Bend, but it turned out to be too weak and ended up taking on some water when it arrived after waiting for a couple of hours for the winds to moderate. Instead, the Cherry Valley anchored for the night while still clinging to the two errant vessels. On the other hand, Dorothy Moran rolled into town shortly after midnight. It waited until daylight and then towed both ships. In addition, the Dorothy Moran towed the Poseidon to Cape Canaveral before towing the Orgeron to Jacksonville for repairs as the Cherry Valley continued on its journey. Luckily, the storm had passed, everyone was secure, and ET-70 was prepared to carry out its sole mission on STS-71. Everything was fine, but was it?

NASA paid the biggest salvage settlement

As previously mentioned, maritime customs and rules have existed for a very long time and even predate the laws of the land. In general, maritime law states that rescuing ships are entitled to a salvage settlement based on the worth of the salvaged goods. So, in this case, simply calculate how much the Orgeron and Poseidon would be worth if they were to be sold on the open market, and a portion of that amount will serve as the reward. Simple enough, it seems. But what about ET-70? That has no worth whatsoever because a gasoline tank designed to work only with the space shuttle has no market. So what if they simply demanded the tank itself as payment? Then the crew of the Cherry Valley and her captain, Prentice "Skip" Strong III, would own one actual piece of space technology and have no involvement in it. Therefore, this conundrum persisted throughout the case's proceedings in District Courts and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Finally, the court decided that they would calculate the reward using the external tank's replacement cost. So, finally, on June 29th, 1998, the court awarded $4,125,000 to Keystone Shipping, Cherry Valley's owner. Additionally, the ship's crew got 37% of the award sum. At the time, it was the biggest salvage settlement in history.