NORWAY Law and Practice Contributed by: Kristian Lindhartsen, Lilly Kathrin Relling and Tobias Kilde, Kvale Advokatfirma DA
relevant acts for ship arrests in Norway are the Maritime Code and the NDA. Under Norwegian law, the prerequisite for arrest of a ship is that the claim in question is defined as a maritime claim in accordance with Section 92 of the Norwegian Maritime Code. The pro - vision exhaustively defines what constitutes a maritime claim and corresponds with Article 1 (1) of the 1952 Convention. In addition, Norwegian law introduces a spe - cial requirement that there is a “genuine need for security” (Section 33-2 of the NDA). This goes beyond the 1952 Convention and means, in essence, that the claimant must establish that the debtor’s behaviour indicates that the enforcement of the claim will be prejudiced or would have to take place outside of Norwegian jurisdiction if the court does not grant the arrest. The requirement will usually be found satisfied if the debtor has failed to pay a clear debt, failed to respond to reminders, taken steps to remove their assets from Norwegian jurisdiction, etc. However, it is underlined that this represents a complication in terms of obtaining a ship arrest in Norway. 4.2 Maritime Liens Section 51 of the Norwegian Maritime Code pro - vides an exhaustive list of the following claims that are protected as a maritime lien: • wages and other sums due to the Master and other persons employed on board in respect of their employment on the vessel; • port, canal and other waterway dues and pilotage dues; • damages in respect of loss of life or personal injury occurring in direct connection with the operation of the ship;
• damages in respect of loss of or damage to property, occurring in direct connection with the operation of the ship, provided the claim is not capable of being based on contract; and • salvage reward, compensation for wreck removal and general average contribution. Maritime liens enjoy a special protection under Norwegian law, and the arrest of a ship is allowed irrespective of whether the requirement of “genuine need for security” (Section 33-2 of the NDA) is satisfied. Norwegian law differentiates between maritime liens and maritime claims, with the latter catego - ry containing a broader array of claims. An arrest can be sought in respect of all maritime claims. However, for maritime claims that do not qualify for a maritime lien, the requirement of “genuine need for security” must also be satisfied. 4.3 Liability in Personam for Owners or Demise Charterers Norwegian law generally requires that the owner of the ship must be the debtor of the maritime claim giving rise to the arrest, meaning Norwe - gian law does not acknowledge action “in rem”. The exception is certain claims that are secured by a maritime lien, thus giving grounds for an arrest. 4.4 Unpaid Bunkers The bunker supplier (both contractual and actu - al supplier) may apply for an arrest for a claim relating to bunkers supplied by them, provided that the debtor owns the vessel whose arrest is sought. If the bunkers in question were supplied to a charter (time charterer or bareboat char - terer), an arrest can only be obtained on the bun - kers actually delivered. The charterer does not have the authority to bind the vessel indepen -
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