Admiralty & Maritime NPA

About this NPA

The Admiralty and Maritime NPA incorporates proceedings that relate to admiralty or maritime disputes including:

in rem proceedings
in personam proceedings
marine insurance
cargo claims
other matters including matters relating to the Navigation Act 2012 (Cth) and the Coastal Trading (Revitalising Australian Shipping) Act 2012 (Cth).

The Oar Mace of Admiralty

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Latest Judgments

Recent Judgments - Federal Court

27 Feb 2023: Dan-Bunkering (Singapore) Pte Ltd v The Ship Yangtze Fortune (No 2) [2023] FCA 148
ADMIRALTY - where orders made for judicial sale of a ship pendente lite by closed tender process - where Admiralty Marshal accepted tender of highest bidder - where highest bidder defaulted on contractual obligations - directions sought as to termination of contract and acceptance of second-highest bid
Judge: Stewart J
20 Feb 2023: Ixom Operations Pty Ltd v Blue One Shipping SA [2023] FCAFC 25
ESTOPPEL - where extension of time limitation to sue on contract evidenced by bill of lading granted by "owners" of vessel - where "owners" can refer to registered owners or demise charterers (ie, disponent owners) - where the proper defendant was the demise charterer - where primary judge found that both the registered owner and demise charterer…
Judge: Rares, Sarah C Derrington and Stewart JJ
20 Dec 2022: Dan-Bunkering (Singapore) Pte Ltd v The Ship Yangtze Fortune [2022] FCA 1556
ADMIRALTY - application for judicial sale of ship pendente lite - relevant considerations - where crew members have been on board at anchorage for three months with wages unpaid for at least six weeks - where owner not provisioning ship - where shipowner has not defended the proceeding or opposed the sale - where ship appears to be abandoned -…
Judge: Stewart J

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Case Law

Latest Papers & Publications

28 Jul 2022: Admiralty and maritime seminar
Updates on UK, South Africa, Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia.
18 Nov 2021: Navigating the rough seas of enforcement
AMTAC annual address, by Justice Stewart.
1 Sep 2021: Introductory remarks to MLAANZ marine insurance webinar
Webinar presented by Justice Stewart.

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Practice Notes

Central Practice Note (CPN-1)
Admiralty & Maritime Practice Note (A&M-1)

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Form & Rules

The key forms and rules for commencing these proceedings are:

Actions in rem

Forms:	Admiralty Form 6 – Writ Admiralty Form 8 – Statement of claim: Action in rem
Rules:	Admiralty Rules 15, 16, 19, 22(2) & 30

Actions in personam

Forms:	Form 15 – Originating application Form 17 – Statement of claim
Rules:	Federal Court Rules 8.01(1), 8.04(1) and 8.05(1)(a)

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Arresting a Vessel

Generally applications for arrest of a vessel are urgent and made to the Duty Registrar in the relevant registry.

Admiralty Marshals are available to arrest a vessel anywhere in Australia at any time on any day of the year.

Legislation

Admiralty Act 1988 (Cth)
Admiralty Rules 1988 (Cth)

The admiralty and maritime work of the Court is not limited to proceedings under the Admiralty Act and Admiralty Rules, see also:

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Research Links

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