262. Extent of duty to provide seaworthy ship.

At common law the shipowner's duty to provide a seaworthy ship is absolute unless he has contracted out of it1; he warrants his ship to be seaworthy, not merely that due care has been taken to make her so2. He is, therefore, responsible even for a latent defect which renders her unseaworthy3. Nevertheless, his duty does not extend to providing a perfect ship and one that can never, without the happening of some extraordinary peril, break down