[ North of England Launches New Services for Second-Han... ]

North of England Launches New Services for Second-Hand Buyers

The North of England P&I Association offering would-be buyers of secon
d-hand ships a free ‘writ search’ service to minimise the risk of ou
tstanding claims against thei intended purchases. Such claims areoften
not covered by insurance and can be difficult to recover from the pre
vious owner, usuaily a one-ship company with no other asset.
The service was launched in response to a recent case involving a Nort
h of England member, sho bought a vessel unaware of a US$ 250,000 clai
m against it in Singapore. Awrit had bee issued before the sale but it
was not served until afterwards. The vessel was duly arrested, forein
g the member to settle the claim for US$ 162,500 and pursue the seller
in arbitration under clause 9 of the Saleform contract. In such cases
e the chances of recovery are often slim.
The writ search facility has been arranged with English solicitors Inc
e & Co and South African attorneys Garlicke & Bousfield. It covers the
admiralty registries in London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Durban and Cape
Town. In all these jurisdictions a maritime claim can be enforced aga
inst a ship ‘in rm’, including after a sale provided awrit has been
issued beforehand.