On 6 Sep 2023, Singapore signed the United Nations Convention on the International Effects of Judicial Sales of Ships at a signing ceremony in Beijing on 5 September 2023, making Singapore among the first signatories of the Convention. Singapore was represented by Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China in Beijing Peter Tan Hai Chuan. The Convention was signed by a total of 15 countries at the signing ceremony.
 

The Convention provides a harmonised regime for giving international effect to judicial sales of ships. It also establishes a central repository to which notices and certificates of all judicial sales of ships under the Convention must be transmitted for publication. It streamlines processes for the deletion and registration of ships in the registries of Contracting Parties on the basis of a certificate of judicial sale issued in accordance with the Convention.
 

By providing greater certainty across borders that a judicial sale will confer clean title to a ship on the purchaser, and that the ship may not ordinarily be arrested after a judicial sale for a claim arising prior to the judicial sale, the Convention will benefit shipowners, potential purchasers, creditors, ship financiers and other stakeholders in the maritime industry.

Becoming a Party to the Convention will ensure that Singapore remains a progressive jurisdiction where key maritime-related legal activities are efficient and effective, in line with Singapore’s position as a leading maritime centre.

Source: Xinde Marine News