From the Bench: Shipping - securing specific debts upon a vessel
In the Merchant Shipping Act (Chapter 234 of the Laws of Malta) the legislator provided a tool for creditors to secure specific debts by a special privilege upon a vessel and proceeds from any indemnity arising from collisions and other mishaps and insurance proceeds. Amongst the secured debts, the legislator listed expenses incurred for the preservation of the ship including supplies and provisions to the crew after the last entry into port. The case in the names of Dr Ann Fenech as a special mandator of Deutsche Bank Luxembourg S.A. vs the MY Golden Odyssey decided by the First Hall Civil Court, presided by Mr Justice Spiteri Bailey on November 7, 2022 dealt precisely with this matter. Deutsche Bank was a hypothecary creditor of the ship Golden Odyssey and had a mortgage (ipoteka navali) registered in its favour on the ship. The owners of the ship (a foreign company) had not been paying their dues in relation to the said mortgage and on this basis, the bank sought to arrest the ship in Malta and enforce its mortgage through a sale by licitation (subbasta – court approved sale). On October 14, 2022, the court authorised the sale of the ship to a prospective buyer against an...