TURKS SHIPYARD LTD V THE OWNERS OF THE VESSEL “NOVEMBER” AND OTHERS

[2019] EWHC 2715 (Admlty), Queen’s Bench Division, Admiralty Court, Admiralty Registrar Jervis Kay QC, 16 October 2019

Admiralty – Statutory right of action in rem – Contracting party to ship repair contract – Ship repairer’s possessory lien – Senior Courts Act 1981, section 21(4)

The claimant was a shipyard which had been instructed to undertake works on the barge November needed in order to satisfy Bureau Veritas that the barge was safe for the purpose of the defendants’ venture, which was to moor it on the River Thames near Westminster together with a hydroelectric wheel as an educational conference centre to promote environmental awareness. The barge was drydocked and work performed, but after the first invoice had been paid, subsequent work was carried out and invoiced at £106,220.60 which remained unpaid. The dispute at issue concerned: (a) who was the contracting party or parties in respect of the docking and work performed to the vessel; (b) whether the work performed was authorised; and (c) the reasonableness of the costs put forward by the claimant. The second defendant was a corporate vehicle for the venture, and the third defendant was at times one of its directors and also at times a part owner of the vessel. Only the third defendant had acknowledged service and contested the claim, but disputed both ownership and being a party to the contract and therefore also jurisdiction to consider the claim against him by reason of the provisions of section 21(4) of the Senior Courts Act 1981.