Oledan and Others v The Owners and/or Demise Charterers of the Ship or Vessel “King Coal” – Court of First Instance (Ng J) [2013] HKCFI 1699 – 16 October 2013

Admiralty practice – Priorities – Applicant with no valid claim in rem arresting vessels in capacity as assignee of master’s and crew’s wages – Applicant subsequently seeking to be reimbursed out of proceeds of sale for its own costs of arrest and maintenance in priority to all other claims – Whether applicant entitled to priority over mortgagee

On 8 October 2012 Centel Shipping Co Ltd (Centel), as the assignee of the master’s and crew’s wages, issued writs in rem against the vessels Fearless I and King Coal and subsequently arrested both vessels.