ITALY LAW AND PRACTICE Contributed by: Giorgio Berlingieri, Alberto Massimo Rossi, Alfredo Lizio, Alberto Torrazza, Simone Gaggero and Filippo Cassola, ADVANT Nctm
the sale of the cargo, in line with Article 437 or Article 450 of the Italian Navigation Code. 4.7 Sister-Ship Arrest According to prevailing Italian case law and under Article 3 of the 1952 Arrest Convention, a claimant may not only arrest the vessel in respect of which the claim is brought but also any other vessel that is owned by the ship-owner at the time the claim is brought (so-called “sister ships”). However, this does not apply, where the arrest is sought in respect of any of the maritime claims referred to in Article 1(1)(o), Article 1(1) (p) and/or Article 1(1)(q) of the 1952 Arrest Con - vention, and particularly in the case of disputes relating to title or ownership, disputes between co-owners and claims arising from mortgages or encumbrances. In these cases, only the vessel in respect of which the claim is made may be arrested. 4.8 Other Ways of Obtaining Attachment Orders Under Article 646 of the Italian Navigation Code, the competent court (or the Harbour Master or the Judicial Police in urgent cases) can issue an order aimed at preventing a particular vessel from leaving the port. 4.9 Releasing an Arrested Vessel In order to obtain the release of an arrested ves - sel, it is necessary to challenge the grounds and legitimacy of the arrest order issued by the court to request its revocation. This can be requested by the owner or any interested party, at a special hearing normally scheduled a few days after the date of the arrest. Under Italian law, in order to obtain the release of an arrested vessel, it is also possible to provide a security deposit for the full amount due in relation to the arrested vessel by depositing that amount in a bank account opened in the name of the competent court, and
depositing a bank guarantee issued by a lead - ing Italian bank at the competent court. A Club’s Letter of Indemnity (LOI) or a foreign bank’s bank guarantee could be accepted, subject to the case-by-case evaluation of the competent court. 4.10 Procedure for the Judicial Sale of Arrested Ships The procedure for the judicial sale of an arrested vessel is set out in Articles 643 to 686 of the Italian Navigation Code and Articles 483 to 542 of the Italian Code of Civil Procedure. This pro - cedure is strictly supervised by the competent court (the court of the place where the vessel has been arrested). The procedure is aimed at the sale by public auction of the vessel and may be initiated by the plaintiff whenever the latter has an enforceable right, such as a final judgment or the acknowledgement of the debt contained in a notarial deed. However, should the creditor lack such a right, it may commence a proceeding in order to obtain it by securing the credit through the arrest of the vessel. The sale will be ordered exclusively by public auction, as provided for in Article 655 of the Ital - ian Navigation Code. If the auction does not take place due to lack of bids, the judge will order that further auctions are held, setting a lower base price from time to time. The judge will only order the sale by auction without bidding under the conditions they will prescribe if the auction continues not to take place due to lack of bids. No procedure is provided for the private sale of a seized vessel. However, the order of sales issued by the courts may vary and envisage the possibility that the sale is entrusted to experts (such as brokers). According to Article 591 bis of the Italian Code of Civil Procedure, the order of sale gives great
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