Habeas Corpus for ships? Arresting parties must act responsibly

摘要

Singapore's High Court judge GP Selvam has sent a clear and unequivocal message to anyone intending to arrest a vessel - act fast without abusing your powers and provide all information in good faith or risk having the vessel released from arrest without security. The plaintiffs in this case claimed damages for breach of a bareboat charter party with an option to purchase — an arrangement similar to a hire purchase. The plaintiffs had an option to purchase the vessel at any time during the charter. In June 1998, the plaintiffs formed the view that the defendants were in repudiatory breach of the contract and in August 1998 the plaintiffs asserted a claim for $904,750. The plaintiffs issued a writ on November 7, 1998 and arrested the ship on December 29 but, even then, the plaintiffs had still not fully quantified their claim.