King’s Shipping Trading Co. v. M/S L.S. Line and Others (The Cherry Orient) High Court of Bangladesh (Admiralty Jurisdiction) (Sultan Hossain Khan J.) - 8 July 1985

Arrest of sister ship - Whether within the jurisdiction of the High Court of Bangladesh

The plaintiffs were consignees under eight bills of lading of 399 metric tons of skimmed milk powder shipped on board the defendant’s vessel Viceroy . They alleged damage to cargo and short delivery at Chittagong, Bangladesh and issued proceedings for damages in the sum of Tk. 1,787,363. They also filed an application for the arrest of a sister ship of the Viceroy , the Cherry Orient . No other property of the defendant’s lay within the jurisdiction of the court. The application was granted on 28 May 1985. The vessel was released upon the defendants furnishing a banker’s guarantee in the sum of Tk. 1,500,000. The defendants then filed an application to vacate the order of arrest. They alleged that the arrest of a sister ship was outside the jurisdiction of the court.