SINGAPORE Law and Practice Contributed by: Mathiew Christophe Rajoo, Probin Dass and Tan Hui Tsing, DennisMathiew
However, Article III Rule 5 of the Hague–Visby Rules states that the shipper shall be deemed to have guaranteed to the carrier the accuracy of cargo information at the time of the shipment and that the shipper shall indemnify the carrier for losses arising from the inaccuracy of such particulars. 3.5 Time Bar for Filing Claims for Damaged or Lost Cargo Under Article III Rule 6 of the Hague–Visby Rules (as enacted by the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act), the limitation period for cargo damage is one year from delivery or the date on which the cargo should have been delivered. That said, parties can mutually agree to extend the limita - tion period. 4. Maritime Liens and Ship Arrests 4.1 Ship Arrests There is no international convention that governs the arrests of vessels in Singapore. Singapore is not party to the 1952 Arrest Convention. As such, the Singapore High Court (Admiralty Juris - diction) Act remains applicable. 4.2 Maritime Liens Maritime liens that are recognised in the Singa - pore jurisdiction include: • a damage lien arising out of damage done by a ship; • Master and crew’s wages; and • claims for salvage. There is a list of claims that attract a statutory lien set out in the Singapore High Court (Admiral - ty Jurisdiction) Act. As per the High Court (Admi - ralty Jurisdiction) Act, a vessel can be arrested for claims that attract a maritime lien or a stat -
utory lien. Crew injury may attract a statutory lien pursuant to Section 3(1)(f) of the High Court (Admiralty Jurisdiction) Act. Any claim arising out of any agreement relating to the carriage of goods in a ship or to the use or hire of a ship, including contracts for chartering a ship, may attract a statutory lien pursuant to Section 3(1) (h) of the High Court (Admiralty Jurisdiction) Act. 4.3 Liability in Personam for Owners or Demise Charterers It is a requirement that the owners or demise charterers be liable in personam. When apply - ing to obtain the warrant of arrest, the arresting party must identify the party who would be liable in personam in the action (Section 4 of the High Court (Admiralty Jurisdiction) Act). 4.4 Unpaid Bunkers A vessel can be arrested for unpaid bunkers under Section 3(1)(l) of the High Court (Admi - ralty Jurisdiction) Act for “any claim in respect of goods or materials supplied to a ship for her operation or maintenance”. However, Section 4(4) of the High Court (Admi - ralty Jurisdiction) Act must be satisfied in order to obtain a warrant of arrest, namely that: • the bunkers must have been ordered/pur - chased by the ship-owner or charterer of the vessel when the cause of action arose; and • the purchaser remains the beneficial owner of the ship with respect to all the shares in it or the demise charterer of the vessel at the time the writ is issued. In this regard, a charterer who purchases bun - kers does not bind the vessel; to proceed against the vessel, the charterer shall have to be owner or demise charterer of the target vessel for arrest. This is because the action in rem shall
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