Facts (No 1): Two ships, Lauren Hansen and Teras Bandicoot, were moored in Darwin Harbour for some time,5 without crew or any other kind of attention. The plaintiff brought proceedings in rem against each ship separately, claiming unpaid mooring fees for the use of the plaintiff’s cyclone mooring. Both ships were in “dead ship” mode, having been left unattended throughout the period that they had remained at the cyclone mooring, with no maintenance having been undertaken on either during that time, nor any operation of their propulsion plants, boilers and auxiliaries. The current condition, structural integrity and seaworthiness of the ships were unknown, with the result that it was unknown whether either ship could be boarded safely. In both proceedings, the plaintiff sought interlocutory relief in the form of an order permitting it to serve originating process and an arrest warrant by way of email on each ship’s owner, rather than on the ships themselves.

Decision (No 1): Orders granted as sought; service of documents to be by email.

Held (No 1): (1) The Admiralty Rules 1988 (Cth), r.6A, allows the court to dispense with compliance with any of the requirements of the Rules. The plaintiff sought waiver of the rules requiring service of in rem process on the ship itself (r.30) and execution of the arrest warrant at the same time and place as service of in rem process (r.43(1A)), and requested that service be made on the respective ships’ owners by email.

(2) There was no apparent practical benefit in boarding either ship to affix the writ to the ship or to execute the arrest warrant on the ship physically. In particular, affixing the writ and the warrant in a conspicuous place on the ship (as required by the Rules) would not bring service or execution to the attention of anyone, as no one had been on board either ship for months.