Introduction

6.1 Where the amount of claims exceeds the proceeds of sale, the court must determine the manner in which the proceeds should be distributed.1 It does this through the exercise of an equitable jurisdiction to rank claims according to an order of priority. However, before considering the manner in which the Admiralty Court exercises this jurisdiction, it is necessary to examine the position of three classes of creditors which effectively fall outside this scheme as the treatment of their claims may affect the amount to be distributed according to the order of priority. Those creditors are: