We are pleased to have secured a successful in rem claim for our client, Australasian Global Exports Pty Ltd, against the vessel MV Yangtze Fortune. After obtaining an arbitral award in London against the vessel’s bareboat charterers for breach of contract, Australasian Global Exports Pty Ltd enforced the award in the Federal Court of Australia ([2024] FCA 614).
Relying on the arbitral award, Australasian Global Exports Pty Ltd sought judgment against the MV Yangtze Fortune. In a decision handed down yesterday by the Federal Court of Australia ([2024] FCA 1149), the court awarded over USD 2.9 million to Australasian Global Exports Pty Ltd from the proceeds of the vessel’s judicial sale.
While equal priority for statutory in rem actions is not always guaranteed, in this case, all claims ranked equally, leading to a positive result for our client. This landmark case also set a precedent by addressing the rare scenario of an owner, Soar Harmony Shipping Ltd, successfully claiming against its own vessel under a bareboat charter. The decision clarified the legal rights of owners to bring in rem actions against their own vessels when bareboat charterers default, significantly influencing future maritime claims in similar contexts.
