DENMARK Law and Practice Contributed by: Johannes Grove Nielsen, Camilla Søgaard Hudson, Lars Rosenberg Overby and Malthe Hersom Kløft, Bech-Bruun
5.9 Releasing an Arrested Vessel An arrest shall be lifted if security is provided that is deemed by the enforcement court to be sufficient to cover the claimant’s claim, including: • interest due and estimated future interest; and • likely costs of the arrest procedure, the arrest action and the action regarding the claim. Usually, an amount corresponding to the total claim plus 30–40% is regarded as sufficient. A club letter of indemnity (LOI) is usually accepted and, similarly, a bank guarantee issued by an EU bank should be acceptable in Danish courts. There is no formalised procedure, and a petition to release the ship can simply be submitted to the court by email. 5.10 Procedure for the Judicial Sale of Arrested Ships Judicial sales of arrested vessels are regulated by the general rules on judicial sales of goods, which are laid down in the Danish Administration of Justice Act, Chapters 49–50. Arrest is only an interim remedy designed to secure the payment of debt where execution is not immedi - ately available. A judicial sale of a vessel requires that execution first be levied on the vessel. Execution can - not be levied on the basis of a statutory maritime lien, but requires (for example) a judgment, an enforceable settlement or a mortgage. Once execution is levied on the arrested vessel, usu - ally on the basis of a judgment regarding the merits of the claim, the person with the claim can apply for judicial sale with the enforcement court. The enforcement court will closely monitor a forced sale of a vessel, and it is not possible to conduct a private sale. The judicial sale of a vessel will be announced in the Official Danish Gazette and other relevant places after specific orders from the bailiff’s court. The announcement must be made at least six weeks before the sale, and at least twice. If the vessel
Further, and as previously mentioned, arrest can be carried out as a security for non-maritime monetary claims in accordance with the Danish Administration of Justice Act if: • execution is not possible; • the possibility of payment will otherwise be signifi - cantly reduced; and • the claimant accepts that the vessel will not be detained. Moreover, the Danish Administration of Justice Act allows for obtaining attachments (levy execution) once a judgment or award has been obtained, a settlement entered into or a mortgage signed. Once levied, exe - cution gives the execution creditor the right to apply for a forced sale. To levy execution on a vessel, the following is required: • an enforceable judgment or court order; • a settlement that expressly states that it is enforce - able; • an instrument of debt expressly stating enforce - ability; or • a mortgage. Thus, this form of attachment can be used to secure payment of a right already established through a judg - ment, settlement agreement, debt instrument or mort - gage. The Brussels Regulation (recast) No 1215/2012 on Jurisdiction and Recognition and Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters is in force in Denmark through Denmark’s bilateral agree - ment with the EU. In accordance with the Regula - tion, judgments from within the EU are recognised and enforceable without any special proceedings. As Denmark is bound by the Lugano Convention, judg - ments rendered by a court within the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) are similarly recognised and enforceable in Denmark. The Brussels Regulation also allows for provisional measures, including arrest. This means that a Danish court should allow arrest of a vessel situated outside Danish waters in accordance with the Danish Admin - istration of Justice Act.
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