Far East Oil Tanker SA v Owners of the Ship or Vessel ""Andres Bonifacio - Court of Appeal (Lai Kew Chai, Goh Joon Seng and Warren LH Khoo JJ) - 22 September 1993

Admiralty action in rem - Whether defendants were beneficial owners of arrested vessel at material time

The plaintiffs were the owners of the Feoso Ambassador 2, which had been chartered to the defendants on two separate occasions. The plaintiffs commenced an Admiralty action in rem against the defendants’ vessel the Andres Bonifacio to enforce their claims in respect of two voyages involving the Feoso Ambassador 2. Feoso Ambassador SA commenced a separate Admiralty action in rem against the Andres Bonifacio to enforce their claim arising from the charter of the vessel Feoso Ambassador . On 17 October 1989 the plaintiffs arrested the Andres Bonifacio . Subsequently, the defendants, PNOC Oil Carrier Inc (""POCI”), obtained the release of the vessel by giving security, and then applied to set aside the service of the writ in rem and the warrant of arrest on the ground that the arrest of the Andres Bonifacio was wrongful and an abuse of the process of the court. They contended that the defendants were not the persons liable on the various claims in an action in personam .