Arrest of Ships
Ship arrest is a legal remedy that allows a claimant holding a maritime claim to detain a vessel in a competent jurisdiction as security for that claim. It is an in rem action — the claim is against the ship itself, not merely against the shipowner. Arrest gives a claimant effective leverage without first obtaining a judgment: the vessel cannot sail until adequate security is provided.
Two international conventions regulate arrest: the 1952 Brussels Convention (still the operative instrument in most major jurisdictions) and the 1999 Geneva Convention (in force in a small number of states). Both set out the maritime claims for which arrest is available, the conditions for sister-ship arrest, and the obligations of the arresting state.
1952 Convention
International Convention Relating to the Arrest of Sea-Going Ships, 1952
In force: 24 February 1956 · Parties: Around 70 states, including the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Greece, and most Commonwealth jurisdictions. Remains the operative instrument in the majority of states.
Recognised maritime claims
- ·Damage caused by any ship in collision or in any other manner.
- ·Loss of life or personal injury caused by any ship.
- ·Salvage.
- ·Agreement relating to the use or hire of any ship (charterparty claims).
- ·Agreement relating to the carriage of goods (bill of lading claims).
- ·Loss of or damage to goods carried on board a ship.
- ·General average.
- ·Bottomry.
- ·Towage.
- ·Pilotage.
- ·Goods or materials supplied to a ship for its operation or maintenance.
- ·Construction, repair, or equipment of any ship or dock charges.
- ·Wages of masters, officers, or crew.
- ·Master's disbursements, including disbursements made by shippers, charterers, or agents.
- ·Disputes as to the title to, or ownership of, any ship.
- ·Disputes between co-owners as to the employment or earnings of a ship.
- ·A mortgage or hypothèque on a ship.
Sister-ship arrest
Permitted: a claimant may arrest any ship in the fleet owned by the person who would be liable on the claim at the time the cause of action arose — not just the ship that was involved.
Notes
The breadth of the 1952 Convention's maritime claim list and the sister-ship rule made it the preferred instrument for claimants. UK admiralty jurisdiction is exercised under the Senior Courts Act 1981, which broadly mirrors the 1952 Convention.
1999 Convention
International Convention on Arrest of Ships, 1999
In force: 14 September 2011 · Parties: Approximately 12 states, including Albania, Algeria, Benin, Bulgaria, Ecuador, Estonia, Latvia, Liberia, Spain, and Syria. Not in force in the UK, Greece, or major flag states.
Recognised maritime claims
- ·Claims in respect of loss or damage caused by the operation of the ship.
- ·Loss of life or personal injury in connection with the operation of the ship.
- ·Salvage operations or salvage agreement.
- ·Damage or threat of damage to the environment, coastline, or related interests.
- ·Costs or expenses relating to the raising, removal, recovery, destruction, or rendering harmless of a sunken, wrecked, stranded, or abandoned ship.
- ·Pilotage.
- ·Towage.
- ·Goods, materials, provisions, bunkers, equipment, or services supplied to the ship for its operation, management, preservation, or maintenance.
- ·Construction, reconstruction, repair, converting, or equipping of the ship.
- ·Port, canal, dock, harbour, and other waterway dues and charges.
- ·Wages and other sums due to the Master, officers, and other crew members in respect of their employment on the ship.
- ·Disbursements incurred on behalf of the ship or its owners.
- ·Insurance premiums in respect of the ship, paid by or on behalf of the ship owner or demise charterer.
- ·Commissions, brokerages, or agency fees payable in respect of the ship.
- ·Any dispute as to ownership or possession of the ship.
- ·Any dispute between co-owners of the ship.
- ·A mortgage, "hypothèque", or charge on the ship.
- ·Any dispute arising out of a contract for the sale of a ship.
Sister-ship arrest
Narrowed: arrest of an associated ship is only permitted where the ship owner (or bareboat charterer) is personally liable on the claim. This restricts sister-ship arrest compared to the 1952 Convention.
Notes
The 1999 Convention modernised the list of maritime claims (adding environmental damage and insurance premiums) and tightened the sister-ship rule. Its limited ratification means the 1952 Convention remains dominant in practice.
The arrest process
- Step 1Application ex parte
The claimant's solicitor files an ex parte (without notice to the shipowner) application to the admiralty court, supported by evidence of the maritime claim and the vessel's imminent departure. No hearing on the merits at this stage.
- Step 2Issue of warrant of arrest
If satisfied that a maritime claim exists and the vessel is present in jurisdiction, the court issues a warrant of arrest. In the UK this is issued by the Admiralty and Commercial Court Registry.
- Step 3Service by the sheriff (or marshal)
The court marshal (or sheriff in admiralty) boards the vessel and physically serves the warrant on the Master. The vessel is then legally detained and cannot depart.
- Step 4Notification
The shipowner and P&I Club (Protection & Indemnity insurer) are notified. The Club's local correspondent attends the vessel to coordinate.
- Step 5Security posted and vessel released
The shipowner or Club provides security — typically a P&I Club Letter of Undertaking (LOU) or a bail bond issued by a bank or insurer — to the value of the claim plus interest and costs. On acceptance by the claimant, the warrant is lifted and the vessel sails.
- Step 6Claim proceeds in personam
Once security is provided, the dispute is litigated in personam against the security rather than against the ship. If no security is posted, the vessel may be sold by court order to satisfy the claim.
Maritime liens and priority
A maritime lien is a privileged claim that attaches to the vessel automatically upon the occurrence of the relevant event and travels with the ship into the hands of any subsequent owner. The recognised maritime liens (under most common-law systems) rank in priority order: (1) crew wages and repatriation costs; (2) salvage; (3) port dues and pilotage; (4) collision damage; (5) mortgages. Crew wage liens have the highest priority and rank ahead of mortgagee banks — a feature that underpins the ITF's use of arrest as a primary remedy in abandonment cases.
ITF and unpaid wages
The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) routinely uses ship arrest as a tool in abandonment and unpaid-wages cases. When a crew is stranded with wages outstanding, an ITF inspector works with an admiralty solicitor in the port state to apply for a warrant of arrest before the vessel can be moved by a new operator. The arrested vessel cannot sail until security covering the full value of unpaid wages, repatriation costs, and MLC-required maintenance is provided. Because crew wages carry the highest maritime lien priority, a P&I Club or bank providing security to free the vessel knows the crew claim must be satisfied first.
Crew impact of arrest
When a vessel is arrested, the crew remain on board in a supervisory capacity (the vessel has not been abandoned). The Master is obliged to cooperate with the marshal and must not allow the vessel to move. Crew members' own employment rights — wages, repatriation, and maintenance — continue to accrue regardless of the owner's financial position. Under MLC 2006, the flag state financial security system should cover repatriation and up to four months' outstanding wages independently of an arrest.
See also
- · MLC 2006 — financial security requirements for abandonment; crew wage protection.
- · ITF & IBF — ITF's role in coordinating arrests for unpaid wages.
- · Charterparties — employment and hire obligations that give rise to maritime claims.
- · Hague-Visby & carriage regimes — cargo claims that frequently give rise to in rem arrest proceedings.
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