§161. Liability to freighters
No ship owner is answerable beyond the amount of his interest in the vessel and freight for the embezzlement, loss or destruction, by the master and mariners, of any property put on board of such vessel, nor for any act of theirs without his privity or knowledge. If several owners of property on the same voyage suffer such damage and the whole vessel and her freight for the voyage are not sufficient to compensate each of them, they shall be compensated by the owner of the vessel in proportion to their respective losses, and for that purpose, they or the owner of the vessel, or any of them, may file a complaint for discovery and payment of the sum, for which said owner is liable to the parties entitled thereto.