CITGO Asphalt Refining Company v. Frescati Shipping Company

(1) Whether a safe berth provision in a voyage charter contract is a guarantee of the safety of the berth, rather than a duty of due diligence, and whether such a contractual provision runs to the benefit of a third-party vessel owner when there is no evidence of the contracting parties" intent to benefit the vessel owner; and (2) whether a wharf owner"s tort duty to provide a safe approach extends to routes selected exclusively by a vessel"s navigators in federally maintained waters over which the wharf owner does not exercise dominion or control.