Thor Shipping A/S v The Ship “Al Duhail” (No 2) [2008] FCA 2007

Thor Shipping A/S v The Ship “Al Duhail” (No 2) [2008] FCA 2007

Indemnity costs were refused because the plaintiff's claim was legitimate at its inception, the plaintiff experienced considerable difficulty identifying the true owner of the vessel, inconsistency in responses from the Amir's solicitors caused doubt, and the Amir had entered the relevant charterparty through his agent but escaped liability by virtue of immunity. The Court made orders setting aside the arrest warrant, releasing the ship upon payment of the Admiralty Marshal's costs and expenses, requiring the plaintiff to pay the defendant's assessed costs, granting liberty to apply and dismissing the action upon release of the ship.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
08 December 2008
Procedural Posture
Admiralty Proceeding / Application Concerning Arrest Warrant, Release of Ship and Costs
Outcome
Indemnity costs refused; arrest warrant set aside; ship ordered to be released upon payment of Admiralty Marshal's costs and expenses; action to stand dismissed upon release.
Legal Topics
['arrest of Ship' 'release From Arrest' 'indemnity Costs' "admiralty Marshal's Costs and Expenses" 'immunity']
['admiralty' 'costs'] ['arrest of Ship' 'release From Arrest' 'indemnity Costs' "admiralty Marshal's Costs and Expenses" 'immunity']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Admiralty Proceeding / Application Concerning Arrest Warrant, Release of Ship and Costs

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether costs should be ordered on an indemnity basis.' 'Whether the warrant for arrest of the ship "Al Duhail" should be set aside and the ship released upon payment of the Admiralty Marshal\'s costs and expenses.']

Ratio Decidendi

Indemnity costs were refused because the plaintiff's claim was legitimate at its inception, the plaintiff experienced considerable difficulty identifying the true owner of the vessel, inconsistency in responses from the Amir's solicitors caused doubt, and the Amir had entered the relevant charterparty through his agent but escaped liability by virtue of immunity. The Court made orders setting aside the arrest warrant, releasing the ship upon payment of the Admiralty Marshal's costs and expenses, requiring the plaintiff to pay the defendant's assessed costs, granting liberty to apply and dismissing the action upon release of the ship.

Court Disposition

Indemnity costs refused; arrest warrant set aside; ship ordered to be released upon payment of Admiralty Marshal's costs and expenses; action to stand dismissed upon release.

Orders

  • ['Upon payment of the Admiralty Marshal\'s costs and expenses in connection with the custody of the ship "Al Duhail" while it was under arrest, including any costs associated with the release from arrest of the ship, the warrant for the arrest of the ship "Al Duhail" issued on 20 August 2008 be set aside.' 'The...