SWEDEN Law and Practice Contributed by: Michele Fara, Ninos Aho, Paula Bäckdén and Anders Leissner, Advokatfirman Vinge KB
4.5 Arresting a Vessel For a vessel to be arrested, certain formalities are required. The arrest applicant must submit an application to the maritime court with juris - diction over the matter (see 2.4 Procedure and Requirements for Establishing a Limitation Fund ). A power of attorney in original form must be submitted with the request for arrest. The arrest application must be drafted in Swedish. Sup - porting documentation in English is usually accepted. To obtain an arrest order, the applicant must demonstrate probable cause for a legitimate claim that is, or could be assumed to be, brought before the court. In addition, the applicant must show that there is a presumed risk that the defendant may evade, conceal assets or other - wise avoid payment, unless the claim is secured by a maritime lien. Lastly, the applicant is obli - gated to provide security covering all potential costs and damages that may be incurred by the other party in the event of an unjustified vessel arrest. Without security, the court will generally not grant the application for arrest. The court can decide to waive the security requirement for a claimant who cannot afford it and has very strong reasons ( synnerliga skäl ) for its claim. The court also determines what kind of security is adequate and how much it should cover. 4.6 Arresting Bunkers and Freight Bunkers supplied to a bareboat or time char - terer may be subject to arrest. The bunker sup - plier can, however, only invoke the general rules on arrest outlined in Chapter 15 of the Swedish Code of Judicial Procedure (1942:470) in order to arrest bunkers onboard or seize other assets of the charterer.
4.7 Sister-Ship Arrest So-called sister-ship arrests are possible in Sweden. Pursuant to Chapter 4 of the Swedish Maritime Code (1994:1009), a vessel other than that to which the maritime claim relates can be arrested in some particular cases. This is possi - ble if the other vessel is owned by the same legal entity at the time when the maritime claim arose. There are exceptions to this rule, however, for example if the claim relates to disputes as to the ownership, possession, employment or earnings of the vessel, or to the mortgage of a vessel. 4.8 Other Ways of Obtaining Attachment Orders There are different types of attachment orders in Swedish law that can be used to obtain security, depending on the nature and stage of the claim, the type of property involved and the risk of dis - sipation or loss of the assets. Apart from ship arrests and provisional attachment under Chap - ter 15 of the Swedish Code of Judicial Procedure (1942:470), if the claimant has a binding deci - sion against the debtor, security can be obtained by attachment ( utmätning ) under the Swedish Enforcement Code (1981:774). 4.9 Releasing an Arrested Vessel A vessel subject to arrest shall be prevented from departing. However, pursuant to Chapter 4 of the Swedish Maritime Code (1994:1009), the owner or any interested party in possession of the vessel may apply to the court for permis - sion to use the vessel against bail or as security. This can be granted in two cases: if the vessel is arrested because of a maritime claim related to disputes as to the ownership of the vessel, or to disputes between co-owners of a vessel as to the ownership or possession of the vessel or the operation of or earnings from the vessel.
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