Bridge Oil Ltd v The Fund Constituting the Proceeds of the Sale of the MV "Mega S" (formerly the MV "Aksu") and Ors - High Ct of South Africa (Cape of Good Hope Provincial Div) (Cleaver J) - 12 June 2003

Admiralty practice - Priorities - Whether holder of "pledge right" registered in Turkey in relation to supply of bunkers had priority over mortgagee's claim

The issue in this matter was whether the applicant had a claim ranking above the claim of the third respondent ("the Bank"), which was the mortgagee of the vessel Mega S. The vessel had initially been registered in Turkey under the name Aksu. The applicant's claim arose from the supply of bunkers sold and delivered to the vessel in Singapore and China in January and February 2000 by the plaintiff. In April 2000 the Turkish court granted a "pledge right" of US$298,000 on the vessel in favour of the applicant. In August 2000 the applicant caused the pledge to be registered in the vessel's registry in Turkey.