News date: 27 September 2021
The team of Odesa office of Ilyashev & Partners Law Firm ensured the arrest of vessel of the Greek shipowner in Chornomorsk Sea Port to secure the maritime claim of the Swiss charterer.
The charterer and one of the world’s largest shipowners’ mutual insurance clubs (P&I Club) approached Ilyashev & Partners with a task to arrest the vessel in order to secure the maritime claim arising from the charter agreement.
When transferring the vessel for time charter, the shipowner provided incorrect data on the amount of fuel on board, increasing the figures by more than 210 metric tons, intentionally reduced the vessel’s speed and significantly deviated from the route by 110 nautical miles, which resulted in the loss of position in a queue for berthing in the unloading port and, accordingly, caused significant losses to the charterer.
The attorneys of Odesa office of Ilyashev & Partners immediately took all necessary measures to secure the maritime claim through the imposition of arrest on vessel by court. In addition, the attorneys managed to detain the vessel for 72 hours under the order issued by the port captain. The matter was complicated by the fact that the vessel has from time to time turned off the automatic identification system (AIS), which prevented the location of vessel and predicting the time of its arrival and berthing in the port.
Despite this, Ilyashev & Partners’ attorneys managed to promptly prepare an application for the arrest of vessel and a relevant package of supporting documents. As a result, the Commercial Court of Odesa Region confirmed the validity and legality of the maritime claim in accordance with the Brussels Convention Relating to the Arrest of Sea-Going Ships of 1952.
Within a few hours following the arrest, the shipowner had to sit down at the negotiating table, after which the charterer agreed to accept the Letter of Undertaking of the British largest P&I Club, against which the vessel was immediately released. The dispute will be further referred for consideration on the merits to the London Maritime Arbitrators Association (LMAA).
The P&I Club’s undertakings are an extremely effective and widely applicable method to secure the maritime claims, allowing to release the vessel as quickly as possible with minimal losses to the shipowner and no harm to the interests of the creditor.