One of the services offered by Smallegange is arresting ships. If a client wishes to arrest a ship then Smallegange drafts an arrest petition through which the Court is requested to grant leave to arrest the ship. Prior to drafting the arrest petition Smallegange will then first determine pursuant to the applicable law and international conventions whether it is possible to arrest the ship. After the leave has been granted by the Court Smallegange will instruct the bailiff to arrest the ship.
If a ship of one of Smallegange’s clients is unlawfully arrested, then Smallegange will start summary proceedings on behalf of its client in which the Court is requested to lift the arrest. If on the other hand a ship of one of Smallegange’s clients is lawfully arrested, then Smallegange will assists its client with the lifting of the arrest by offering sufficient security on behalf of its client, through for example a Letter of Undertaking on the Rotterdam Guarantee Form 2008.
A Dutch Court is competent to grant leave to arrest a ship that has called a port or is expected to call a port that is situated within the district of the Court. In their turn the lawyers of Smallegange, as they are admitted to the Dutch Bar, are authorised to request every Court in the Netherlands to grant leave to arrest a ship.
Besides ships that are calling Dutch ports Smallegange can also arrest ships that are calling the ports of Antwerp or Ghent in Belgium. Ships that are calling Antwerp or Ghent can be arrested at Flushing (Vlissingen) roads. In that respect leave has to be requested from the Court Zeeland-West-Brabant. Ships that are calling Ghent can also be arrested at the locks of Terneuzen. Of course ships can also be arrested at the aforementioned places if they sail from Antwerp or Ghent to sea.
If you wish to arrest a ship that is calling a Dutch or Belgian port or if your ships has been arrested or is threatened to be arrested, then please feel free to contact one of Smallegange’s lawyers in that respect.