ARINA OFFSHORE JLT V OWNERS OF THE SHIP OR VESSEL "ALMOJIL 61"

[2014] HKCFI 1152, Court of First Instance, Hong Kong, Peter Ng J, 26 June 2014

Admiralty - Action in rem - Arrested sister ship wholly owned according to ship register - Co-owner not having registered ownership or part of ship - Whether "beneficially owned as respects all the shares therein" - High Court Ordinance (Cap 4), section 12B(4)

All 64 shares of the vessel Almojil 61 has been judicially sold on 7 March 2014. The registered owner according to the Dominican ship registry prior to the sale had been Saudi company MMG. The sale had taken place in pursuit of the enforcement of charterparty debt owed by MMG to the plaintiff in respect of five other vessels. MMG had not acknowledged service, but a Dubai company in the same family, AMI, had acknowledged service as co-owner. AMI's claim was founded on an agreement dated September 2012 between it and MMG under Saudi law whereby it would pay an instalment of the purchase price of the vessel on behalf of MMG and in return become beneficial owner of part of the vessel and be entitled to the proceeds of any sale of the vessel.