Two chemical tankers flying the Panamanian flag, the Marvin Faith and the Marvin Confidence, had been moored in the port of Rotterdam for months. Two companies based in Hong Kong were in dispute with two companies based in the Marshall Islands over the ownership of the ships in proceedings conducted in London and Panama. The ships were manned by a total of 26 Georgian and Russian seafarers, all employed by a Greek employer. They had not been paid for months. After we seized the ships on their behalf, we filed wage claims in summary proceedings with the Rotterdam court. Those claims were awarded, but payment was not made. We therefore prepared for the auction of the ships. Such auctions of foreign ships take place under the supervision of the Rotterdam court. The dispute over the ownership of the ships posed a potential threat to the smooth running of the auction proceedings. There was a risk that the Hong Kong companies would thwart the auction proceedings by objecting to the auctions in court. Such action would have prevented the crew members from recovering their claims from the proceeds of the ships. To prevent this, a second summary proceeding was successfully brought against the Hong Kong companies with the aim of prohibiting them from making use of this legal option. The preliminary relief judge ruled that the Hong Kong companies must indeed tolerate the auctions, unless they paid the crew members’ claims in full, including all costs incurred in preparation for the auctions, and imposed a penalty of €500,000 for each act in violation of the judgment. In order to prevent the auctions, these companies subsequently paid the wage claims in full, including all (auction) costs incurred.
Photo: Vasilis Caravitis
When collecting crew claims, it is important to keep an eye on the possibilities of a ‘pre-emptive strike’.
Romke Wybenga
The crew was assisted by Romke Wybenga, Kirsten Boele, Arent Jan Oskam, Diederik van Luyken en Patrick Slob.
