Shipping 2026

BRAZIL Law and Practice Contributed by: Godofredo Mendes Vianna, Camila Mendes Vianna Cardoso and Lucas Leite Marques, Kincaid | Mendes Vianna Advogados

5.5 Arresting a Vessel In order to initiate an arrest claim in court, parties must be represented by lawyers, the appointment of whom requires a power of attorney (POA). The POA must be signed by a representative of the company, duly empowered as per its by-laws or certificates. Such documents must also be duly notarised/legalised or apostilled (if the country in which the document is signed is a signatory of the Apostille Convention). In the case of urgency measures, such as an arrest, the Civil Procedural Code grants the party 15 days to present the POA to the case records after the filing of the claim. This deadline can be extended for an additional 15 days. All foreign documents that are relevant to the claim must be translated into Portuguese by a sworn trans - lator. If it is not possible to translate them before the filing of the arrest application, it is possible to request the judge to grant an extension for the presentation of these documents. However, it is recommendable for all documents to be presented upon the filing, as there is a risk of the judge understanding that said docu - ments were necessary for the analysis of the arrest request, thereby delaying the decision of the arrest. In states where the courts have electronic proceed - ings, scanned copies of the documents may be suf - ficient. Finally, it should be highlighted that Brazil is a signa - tory to the Apostille Convention, which helps to avoid the time and costs associated with legalisation and singularisation procedures. 5.6 Arresting Bunkers and Freight The arrest of bunkers is not a common practice within the Brazilian jurisdiction and there is no specific legis - lation providing for this possibility. However, it would be possible to request the arrest of bunkers based on the general rules set forth in the Civil Procedural Code. The general rules provide that a party may request an arrest of assets or security in general if that party is able to demonstrate both the liquidity of its credits and that there is a risk that the debtor and its assets may disappear in the near future.

• indemnities due for salvage; • general average contributions;

• obligations undertaken by the Master outside the port of registry for actual maintenance needs or continuation of the voyage; • indemnities due as a result of collisions or any other maritime accident; • ship mortgages; • port dues, other than taxes; • outstanding payments due for depositaries, stor - age and warehouse rentals and ship equipment; • expenditure for the upkeep of the ship and her appurtenances, and maintenance expenses at the port of sale; • short delivery and cargo losses; • debts arising out of the construction of the vessel; • expenses incurred for repairs of the vessel and her appurtenances; and • the outstanding price of the vessel. If the arrest is in rem, the creditor must have the privi - leged credit properly constituted, according to Arti - cle 1 of the 1926 Brussels Convention. If the arrest is filed in personam, the claimant must demonstrate the requirements previously mentioned that are applica - ble to injunction requests as determined by the Civil Procedural Code. 5.3 Liability in Personam for Owners or Demise Charterers The personal liability of an owner or demise charterer is not required when attempting a ship arrest based on claims that attach to the vessel (in rem). However, the creditor must have the privileged credit properly constituted. 5.4 Unpaid Bunkers According to the Commercial Code and the 1926 Brussels Convention, credits arising out of ship sup - pliers out of the port of registry, including bunkers, are considered privileged. Therefore, due to their legal nature, those credits have in rem effects and will attach to the vessel, making it possible to arrest the vessel even if the bunker supply contract was entered into with the charterer and not with the owner.

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