SWEDEN Law and Practice Contributed by: Michele Fara, Ninos Aho, Paula Bäckdén and Anders Leissner, Advokatfirman Vinge KB
matter (see 2.4 Procedure and Requirements for Establishing a Limitation Fund ). A power of attorney in original form must be submitted with the request for arrest. The arrest application must be drafted in Swedish. Supporting documentation in English is usually accepted. To obtain an arrest order, the applicant must demon - strate probable cause for a legitimate claim that is, or could be assumed to be, brought before the court. In addition, the applicant must show that there is a presumed risk that the defendant may evade, conceal assets or otherwise avoid payment, unless the claim is secured by a maritime lien. Lastly, the applicant is obligated to provide security covering all poten - tial costs and damages that may be incurred by the other party in the event of an unjustified vessel arrest. Without security, the court will generally not grant the application for arrest. The court can decide to waive the security requirement for a claimant who cannot afford it and has very strong reasons ( synnerliga skäl ) for its claim. The court also determines what kind of security is adequate and how much it should cover. 5.6 Arresting Bunkers and Freight Bunkers supplied to a bareboat or time charterer may be subject to arrest. The bunker supplier can, how - ever, only invoke the general rules on arrest outlined in Chapter 15 of the Swedish Code of Judicial Procedure (1942:470) in order to arrest bunkers onboard or seize other assets of the charterer. 5.7 Sister-Ship Arrest So-called sister-ship arrests are possible in Sweden. Pursuant to Chapter 4 of the Swedish Maritime Code (1994:1009), a vessel other than that to which the mar - itime claim relates can be arrested in certain cases. This is possible if the other vessel is owned by the same legal entity at the time when the maritime claim arose. There are exceptions to this rule, however; for example, if the claim relates to disputes as to the own - ership, possession, employment or earnings of the vessel, or to the mortgage of a vessel.
• building, repair or equipment of a ship or charges for docking; • wages of the Master or any other crew member on account of his or her employment on board the vessel; • Master’s disbursements and disbursements made by a consignor, charterer or shipper, or agents, on behalf of the vessel or her owner; • any dispute as to the ownership of a vessel; • any dispute between co-owners of a vessel as to its ownership or possession, or its operation or earnings therefrom; and • any mortgage or other contractual hypothecation of a vessel. It should be noted that, because the list is exhaustive, it is not possible to arrest a vessel on a claim relating to any circumstance other than those listed. For a vessel to be arrested, the ship-owner must be liable for the maritime claim unless the claim is secured by a maritime lien. 5.3 Liability in Personam for Owners or Demise Charterers Regarding international arrests, a vessel can only be arrested for the maritime claims listed in Chapter 4 of the Swedish Maritime Code (1994:1009), provided that the owner of the vessel is liable for the claim. There is, however, no requirement for the ship-owner or demise charterers to be liable in persona if such claims also are subject to maritime lien. 5.4 Unpaid Bunkers Bunker suppliers have the option to arrest a vessel for claims relating to bunker deliveries provided that the owner of the vessel is liable for the claim. In cases where bunkers have been supplied to a bareboat or time charterer, the bunker supplier can only rely on the general rules on arrest under Chapter 15 of the Swedish Code of Judicial Procedure (1942:740) to arrest bunkers on board, or to seize other assets of the charterer. 5.5 Arresting a Vessel For a vessel to be arrested, certain formalities are required. The arrest applicant must submit an appli - cation to the maritime court with jurisdiction over the
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