The “Vinalines Pioneer” – High Court of Singapore (Belinda Ang Saw Ean J) [2015] SGHC 278 – 26 October 2015

Admiralty jurisdiction – Meaning of “damage done by a ship” – Plaintiff claiming for loss of containers onboard capsized vessel – Whether court had in rem jurisdiction

On 4 June 2013 the plaintiff, Hung Dao Container Joint Stock Company (Hung Dao), a company incorporated in Vietnam, commenced in rem proceedings in Singapore and arrested the vessel Vinalines Pioneer on 9 June 2013 for the loss of 111 containers that were on board the vessel Phu Tan that capsized and sank in the Gulf of Tonkin in heavy seas on 16 December 2010.