Booty

Even a landlubber who only goes down to the sea in books knows that the first seamen to board a ship adrift and take her in tow can claim salvage. Last fortnight, in a Gulf of Mexico fog, the Esso oil tanker Greensboro collided with the Esso tanker Suez and caught fire, killing 38 of the Greensboro's 42-man crew. The captain and crew of a rival tanker Virginia, which was nearby, saw a chance to invoke the sea's ancient law.

Under the nose of two other Esso tankers, which had spent the day hunting survivors, the Virginia, owned by National Bulk Carriers, Inc., moved in after dark. Her men boarded the Greensboro while flames still flickered and began the slow tow to port. Last week the Virginia reached Galveston with its prize, and captain & crew got ready to put in their claim on the $2,000,000 tanker and about 100,000 barrels of oil cargo in six compartments which the fire failed to reach.

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