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OP-ED: The Arrest of Other Ships

Publicaties Mededinging & Regulering

The International Convention Relating to the Arrest of Sea-Going Ships, Brussels 1952 (hereinafter referred to as “the Convention”) deals with the arrest of ships under the jurisdiction of a state, based on a maritime claim. This Convention has been widely ratified and is still applicable in the Netherlands.

In order to be able to arrest a ship, there has to be one of the maritime claims mentioned in the Convention. The main rule under the Convention is that the ship can be arrested on which the maritime claim is based or any other ship which is owned by the owner of the ship on which the maritime claim is based (a so called sistership). However, there are situations in which the owner of the ship on which the maritime claim is based, is not liable for the maritime claim. A clear example is the case in which there is a charter by demise. The charterer of the ship will then most probably be liable for the maritime claim, not the owner of the ship. Of course there are other examples of situations in which another person than the owner of the ship is liable for the maritime claim. The question is whether the Convention foresees in situations like these.

Click here to read the complete article which is published in Maritime Executive.