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ARTICLE · 07 OCTOBER 2021

Arrest Of Ship Under Maritime Law: Practice And Procedure

Moroom Africa Legal Consults
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One fundamental aspect of the maritime industry is the right given to claimants in maritime disputes, based on certain procedures, to arrest a ship as security for their claims.

NigeriaTransport
Dayo Adu
Dayo Adu
Halima Aigbe
Halima Aigbe
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INTRODUCTION

One fundamental aspect of the maritime industry is the right given to claimants in maritime disputes, based on certain procedures, to arrest a ship as security for their claims. This principle is one of the hallmarks of the maritime industry in the world - the assurance of claimants of the ability to reap the fruit of their gains in the event of a successful maritime claim in court or arbitration.

In this article, we examine the reasons for the arrest of a ship as security for maritime claims, the categories of claims for which a ship can be arrested as security, the procedure for the arrest of a ship, among others. 

APPLICABLE LAWS

The grundnorm concerning admiralty or maritime actions in Nigeria is the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended ("the 1999 Constitution"). Section 251(1)(g) of the Constitution gives the Federal High Court ("FHC") jurisdiction over admiralty actions. Although the scope of the admiralty

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