DENMARK Law and Practice Contributed by: Johannes Grove Nielsen and Camilla Søgaard Hudson, Bech-Bruun
4.6 Arresting Bunkers and Freight Bunkers and freight may be subject to arrest in accordance with the Danish Administration of Justice Act. In reality, there are several challenges concern - ing bunker arrest. For example, as previously mentioned, it is a requirement that the execu - tion of the claim be levied against the owner. This means that arrest can only be carried out with regard to a debtor’s own assets, and not to assets owned by anyone else; and, as bunker tanks are normally not emptied completely, it may be a challenge to determine which part of the bunker is owned by a specific debtor. 4.7 Sister-Ship Arrest For certain maritime claims, it is possible to make an arrest of a sister ship. This requires the sister ship to have been owned by the same legal entity that owns or owned the vessel with which the maritime claim is concerned at the time the maritime claim arose. 4.8 Other Ways of Obtaining Attachment Orders According to the Danish Merchant Shipping Act, apart from ship arrest, a ship-builder or a ship- repairer can exercise their right of retention over a ship to secure a claim in respect of the ship- building or repair. 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 significantly reduced; and • the claimant accepts that the vessel will not be detained.
The charterer will not have authority to bind the vessel by ordering necessaries, unless an authority to do so has been granted to the char - terer subject to general principles of Danish con - tract law. 4.5 Arresting a Vessel The application must contain an indication of the specific circumstances that, in the credi - tor’s opinion, may prevent them from obtaining coverage of their claim. The documents that the creditor wishes to rely on must also be attached (copies are sufficient). If these requirements are not met, the bailiff’s court may dismiss the case. A power of attorney is not required to be submit - ted with the request for arrest. The arrest appli - cation must be drafted in Danish. Any supporting documentation is usually accepted in English, but the opponent or the court may occasionally require a translation into Danish. The arresting party will usually have to provide security for the damages and inconvenience that the arrest may cause the arrestee. The enforce - ment court specifies a sufficient amount, which will normally not exceed an amount correspond - ing to five days’ loss of hire. Both parties may appeal the enforcement court’s decision regarding the amount of security to the Danish High Court, which will review the deci - sion. The Danish High Court’s decision is final and cannot be appealed. There are no rules regarding the form in which the arresting party has to provide security. Often, enforcement courts demand a bank guaran - tee, but there is no statutory authority to such a demand. The court will usually also accept a letter of guarantee from a protection and indem - nity (P&I) club.
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