The livestock carrier Yangtze Fortune was arrested in unrelated proceedings at the anchorage off the port of Portland, where it had already been for about two months at the time of arrest. Several other plaintiffs, including the plaintiff in the present case, filed caveats against release from arrest. The ship was eventually sold pendente lite and the proceedings continued against the proceeds of sale. The plaintiff in the present case had entered into a voyage charterparty with the demise charterer of Yangtze Fortune for carriage of a cargo of livestock and foodstuffs from Australia or New Zealand to China and it now sued the ship in rem for breach of that contract.

Stewart J ordered that the proceedings be stayed pursuant to the International Arbitration Act 1974 (Cth), s.7(2) because the charterparty contained a clause providing for arbitration in London. After ordering that the ship be sold pendente lite, Stewart J also ordered that, pursuant to the Admiralty Act 1988 (Cth), s.29(1), the proceeds of sale be retained by the court as security for the satisfaction of any award that might be made in the arbitration. The plaintiff prevailed as claimant in the London arbitration and now applied for recognition and enforcement of the award in its favour against the proceeds of sale of Yangtze Fortune.

Decision: The award should be satisfied from the proceeds of sale.

Held: (1) The requirements stated in the International Arbitration Act 1974 (Cth), ss 8 and 9 for recognition and enforcement of a foreign arbitral award were satisfied. Having been made in England, the award qualified as a “foreign award”; it had not been set aside or suspended; duly certified copies of the arbitral award and the arbitration agreement under which it was made were tendered to the court; the award was between the same