In Thomas A. Snow and Oliver Palmer, Managers of the Ocean Tow-Boat Company, Claimants and Owners of the Steam Tow-boat 'Star', and Oliver Palmer v. Charles Hill et al., Owners of the Ship 'Ocean Queen', and George Law, Marshall O. Roberts, and Bowes R. McIlvaine, Trustees of The United States Mail Steamship Company, Claimants and Owners of the Steamship 'Crescent City', a dispute arose between two vessels in navigable waters over who had right-of-way to pass first on their respective courses. The Supreme Court held that when two ships are approaching each other head on or nearly so in narrow channels they must both alter course to starboard (right side) as soon as possible for safety reasons; if one ship fails to do this then it is at fault for any collision that may occur due to its negligence in not following proper navigation rules set forth by Congress under maritime law. Furthermore, even though there was no actual contact between either vessel during this incident both were found liable since they failed to take necessary precautions which could have avoided an accident from occurring altogether

In the case of Thomas A. Snow and Oliver Palmer, Managers of the Ocean Tow-Boat Company, Claimants and Owners of the Steam Tow-Boat 'Star', and Oliver Palmer v. Charles Hill et al., Owners of the Ship 'Ocean Queen', and George Law, Marshall O. Roberts, and Bowes R. McIlvaine, Trustees of The United States Mail Steamship Company, Claimants and Owners Of The Steamship 'Crescent City.' ,the dissenting opinion argued that a steamboat was not liable for damages caused by its tows when it had no control over them due to their being out at sea or in another port; however this did not apply if there was negligence on behalf of those managing said steamboat which led to an accident involving one or more vessels under its care. Furthermore they argued that even though a vessel may be considered “unseaworthy” due to certain conditions such as age or lack thereof maintenance - these were still matters outside any reasonable expectation from those responsible for operating it safely so long as they took all necessary precautions while doing so . Finally they concluded that since both parties involved in this particular incident had acted with reasonable diligence then neither should bear liability for any resulting damages incurred during their voyage together