International Underwater Sampling Ltd and Anr v MEP Systems Pte Ltd ("The Explorer") - Supreme Court of Namibia (Mainga JA, Chomba AJA and Mtambanengwe AJA) - 5 November 2010

Admiralty jurisdiction - Abuse of process - Claimant invoking court's in rem jurisdiction when claimant had allegedly initiated or elected to initiate arbitration proceedings - Necessaries - Whether claim arising out of sale of deck machinery for seabed mineral sampling vessel was a claim for "necessaries" - Admiralty Court Act 1861

By a contract of sale dated 21 September 2007 at Singapore titled “Sales Contract for MET Deck Machinery” the respondent seller (“MEP”) sold to the first appellant (“IUS”) certain equipment for IUS’s vessel Explorer. MEP described the equipment as deck machinery, although IUS described it as equipment designed to convert the Explorer to undertake seabed mineral sampling. The contract contained a Singapore arbitration clause.