Echo Star ex Gas Infinity [2020] SGHC 200

Which “owners” of Echo Star? – identifying the proper defendant for appearance in an admiralty action in rem

In Echo Star ex Gas Infinity [2020] SGHC 200, the Singapore High Court took the opportunity to clarify the deceptively simple matter of the correct party to enter appearance as a defendant in an admiralty action in rem commenced against a ship, where the defendant is described in the writ generically as “owners of [X] ship”, and a change of ownership has taken place between the incident giving rise to the cause of action and issuance of the writ describing the defendant this way.