Maritime Claims and the Conditions for Ship Arrest

Maritime Claims and the Conditions for Ship Arrest

In other maritime law texts, a definition of a maritime claim has been provided without expressly enumerating its specific instances.

Legal Foundations of Ship Arrest in the Iranian Judicial System and International Conventions

The 1999 International Convention on the Arrest of Ships constitutes the first instrument that provides a clear definition of a maritime claim. Under this Convention, a maritime claim is defined as a claim arising out of one or more of the following matters:

• Loss of or damage caused by the operation of a ship.
• Loss of life or personal injury, whether occurring on land or at sea, provided that it is directly connected with the operation of a ship.
• Salvage operations or any salvage agreement, including special compensation relating to salvage operations in respect of a ship that, by itself or its cargo, poses a threat to the environment.
• Damage to or threat of damage to the environment, coastal areas, or related interests arising from the operation of a ship, as well as measures taken to prevent, minimize, or remedy such damage, compensation for such damage, reasonable costs actually incurred or to be incurred in restoring the environment, damage suffered or likely to be suffered by third parties, and damage, costs, or loss of a similar nature to the foregoing.
• Costs or expenses relating to the raising, removal, recovery, destruction, or securing of a ship that is sunk, stranded, or abandoned, including measures concerning objects on board the ship, as well as costs relating to the preservation of an abandoned ship and the protection and maintenance of its crew.
• Any agreement or contract relating to the use or hire of a ship, whether contained in a charterparty or otherwise.
• Any agreement or contract relating to the carriage of goods or passengers by sea, whether contained in a charterparty or otherwise agreed.
• Loss of or damage to goods, including baggage, carried on board a ship.
• General average.
• Towage.
• Pilotage.
• Goods, materials, provisions, fuel, and equipment, including containers, supplied or services rendered to a ship for its operation, management, preservation, or maintenance.
• Construction, reconstruction, repair, conversion, or equipping of a ship, as well as port dues, canal dues, shipyard charges, anchorage fees, and other waterway-related charges and claims.
• Wages and other sums due to the master, officers, and other members of the ship’s crew in respect of their employment on the ship, including repatriation costs and social insurance contributions payable on their behalf.
• Payments made on behalf of the ship or its owners.
• Insurance premiums paid in respect of the ship by or on behalf of the owner, or in the case of a bareboat charter.
• Any commissions, brokerage fees, or agency fees payable in respect of the ship by or on behalf of the shipowner, or in the case of a bareboat charter.
• Any dispute relating to the ownership or possession of a ship.
• Any mortgage or hypothecation of a ship, or any claim of a similar nature.
• Any dispute arising out of a contract for the sale of a ship.

Conditions for the Arrest of a Ship

In addition to defining maritime claims, the 1999 Convention sets out several significant features concerning the arrest of ships against which a maritime claim has been brought. In general, these conditions are as follows:

• The authority competent to order the arrest or release of a ship is solely the court of the State Party in which the arrest is sought and by whose order the arrest is effected.
• A ship may be arrested only in respect of a single maritime claim and not for multiple claims simultaneously.
• Notwithstanding any contractual provisions granting jurisdiction to a specific court or requiring disputes to be referred to arbitration, a ship may be arrested in any State Party for the purpose of obtaining security.
• The procedures governing the arrest or release of a ship are subject to the law of the State whose competent court has ordered the arrest or before which the arrest is sought.
• Arrest of a ship or other ships is permissible only where, at the time of arrest, the ship is owned by the person who is liable for the maritime claim and who, at the time the claim arose, was one of the following:
  • The owner of the ship in respect of which the maritime claim arose.
  • The charterer of the ship is under a bareboat charter or voyage charter.
• A ship belonging to a person liable for the maritime claim may be arrested only if, under the law of the State where the arrest is sought, the judgment can be enforced against the ship through judicial or compulsory sale.
• This Convention applies to all ships found within the maritime territory of the States Parties, regardless of whether such ships fly the flag of a State Party or not.
• The provisions of the Convention do not apply to warships or ships owned or operated by a State and used solely for governmental, non-commercial purposes.
• The provisions of the Convention do not affect the power of courts of any State to issue orders against all assets of a debtor.
• The provisions of the Convention do not affect conventions relating to the limitation of liability.
• None of the provisions of the Convention creates a maritime lien.

Frequently Asked Questions on Maritime Claims and Ship Arrest