CHILE Law and Practice Contributed by: Ricardo Rozas, Max Morgan and Stefano Perretta, Jorquiera & Rozas Abogados
4.9 Releasing an Arrested Vessel As regards security for lifting an arrest, the amount of security is usually established by the court based on the petition of the arresting party. The amount cannot exceed the value of the arrested vessel and can be reviewed subse - quently through incidental proceedings. Regard - ing the form of security, there are no specific rules, and this will depend on the court’s resolu - tion; however, the security most usually request - ed and granted is a bank guarantee issued by order of the court. As soon as the security is provided, the court shall lift the vessel arrest without delay. For a long time, protection and indemnity insur - ance (P&I) club letters of undertaking were accepted only if agreed by the arrest petitioner, mainly owing to the fact that Chilean courts were not accustomed to them. However, in a case of an arrest following a pollution incident, the court hearing the arrest accepted a letter of undertak - ing with no prior approval from the arrest peti - tioner. 4.10 Procedure for the Judicial Sale of Arrested Ships In accordance with the Code of Commerce, the judicial sale of a vessel, whether voluntary or forced, must observe the rules and formalities set forth by the Code of Civil Procedure for the judicial sale of real estate. The procedure may take between a couple of months and one or two years depending on the debtor’s behaviour during the proceedings. Court costs are usually minor but other costs might be incurred, such as those relating to the administration of the attached property (incumbent on a depositary who has to render account for their administra - tion before the pertinent court).
Regarding security, if the court considers that the supporting documents provided by the arrest petitioner are not sufficient, or the peti - tioner states that they are not yet available to them, the court may require that countersecurity be provided for the potential damages that may result if, subsequently, it is found that the peti - tion lacked basis. As to the form and amount of damages, there are no specific rules, so this is up to the court. 4.6 Arresting Bunkers and Freight There are no specific regulations for arrest - ing bunkers and freight in Chile. This could be achieved by means of the general rules set forth by the Code of Civil Procedure regarding pre- judicial and precautionary measures, but is not an easy exercise owing to formalities and timing restrictions. 4.7 Sister-Ship Arrest As pointed out in 4.3 Liability in Personam for Owners or Demise Charterers , a lien on a ship granted by a privileged credit can be exercised not only against the actual ship to which the privileged credit relates, but also on a ship in the same ownership or a ship in the same adminis - tration or operated by the same person. 4.8 Other Ways of Obtaining Attachment Orders An arrest requested by invoking a credit other than privileged ones – namely, a credit not cov - ered under Articles 844, 845 and 846 of the Code of Commerce (see 4.1 Ship Arrests ) – is subject to the general rules set forth by the Code of Civil Procedure regarding pre-judicial and precaution - ary measures. That said, in Chilean practice it is unusual to petition an arrest in accordance with the general rules of the Code of Civil Procedure.
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