“The onus of proving unseaworthiness is upon those who allege it. This is, of course, a sound doctrine; and it is none the less sound although the vessel break down or sink shortly after putting to sea. That is the principle of law. But the enunciation of that proposition does not impair or alter certain presumptions of fact, such presumptions, for instance, as those which arise from the age, the low classing or non-classing, the non-survey of ship or machinery, the refusal to insure, the laying-up, the admitted defects, and generally the poor and worsening record of the vessel, together with finally the break-down, say, of the machinery immediately, or almost immediately, on the ship putting to sea.”
“ Prima facie it would therefore not seem improbable that the engines were defective at the time when the vessel started from Libau, and that their breakdown within three hours (or one and a half hours as the second engineer says) of full speed having been got up was attributable to this initial defect. In a question of seaworthiness due to initial defect it is, of course, immaterial whether the defect was latent or was capable of being discovered on a careful examination of the engines. The warranty of seaworthiness is absolute unless qualified by contract between the parties, and there is nothing in the contract here which qualifies the obligation to provide a seaworthy ship.”