Lloyd's Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly
ARREST AND JUDICIAL SALE OF SHIPS IN BELGIUM
Walter P. Verstrepen *
The purpose of this article is to serve as a guide for the foreign legal practitioner seeking security for his client’s claim. It considers the legal procedure for arrest of ships in Belgium. Additionally, the process of judicial sale of ships is briefly explained. Both procedures are supported with relevant case law.
I. INTRODUCTION
Ships are predominantly used as means of transportation of goods and passengers. Obviously disputes and claims can arise out of contracts in relation to their building, maintenance, supply, ownership, use and mortgaging. Because ships have the potential to be navigated and are moreover used in international trade for the carriage of goods, a creditor has to take swift actions to secure his claim on a ship as long as it is in a port of a favourable jurisdiction. The arrest of ships is therefore a very powerful and useful weapon for a legal practitioner to obtain the necessary security to encourage the shipowner and/or debtor to settle a claim. Several factors will undoubtedly influence the chance of success in an action to arrest a ship, e.g., the traffic intensity in a port, the amount of liner traffic, the availability of the competent judges and their expertise and promptness in granting a leave to arrest, and the advantages of a jurisdiction.
There is a higher probability of obtaining security through arrest in the world’s major ports, especially where they provide regular liner services. Belgium has the privilege to have the ports of Antwerp, Zeebrugge and Ghent. About 30,000 ships called at these three Belgian major ports in 1994, of which approximately 16,000 were sailing to Antwerp. The port of Antwerp is one of the primary gateways into Europe and is known as a major liner and general cargo port. It is the second largest port in Europe and ranks among the largest in the world. There are about 300 liner services linking Antwerp with 800 destinations overseas. In addition to the probability of locating a ship, the jurisdiction of the forum arresti, the court system, the competence of judges and the rapidity of their decision making are decisive factors. This article attempts to show and persuade the foreign legal
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