Itel Containers International Corporation and others v. Atlanttrafik Express Service Ltd. and others - U.S. Court of Appeals (2nd Circuit) (Van Graafeiland, Winter and Mahoney Ct.JJ.) - 14 December 1992

Container leasing companies provided containers to fleet owners rather than individual vessels - Whether leasing companies entitled to assert maritime lien against ships in which containers carried

In 1984 Atlanttrafik Express Ltd. (“A.E.S.”) was formed to operate a container shipping line. The vessels it used, the defendants in rem in the present case, were owned by the defendants and chartered to A.E.S. To conduct its operations, A.E.S. leased shipping containers from several commercial container lessors, including the plaintiffs. Consistent with industry practice, the containers were delivered in bulk and were not designated for use on any particular ship. Also, consistent with industry practice, A.E.S. leased up to three times as many containers as it could carry on its ships at any given time. The decisions as to which ships would receive particular containers for transport were made solely by A.E.S.