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His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej is graciously pleased
to proclaim that:WHEREAS
it is expedient to enact the laws relating to the arrest of
ships;BE
IT THERFORE, enacted by the King, by and with the advice and
consent of the National Legislative Assembly as follows:
Section 1. This Act shall be called the Arrest
of Ships Act B.E. 2534 (1991).
Section 2. This Act shall come into force ninety
days after its publication in the is Government Gazette.
Section 3. In this Act:
Ship means a seagoing ship for use in the international
transport of goods or passengers.
Maritime
Claim means a claim arising out of the following:
(a) Loss of life or personal injury caused by any
ship or which occurs in connection with the operation
of
any ship;
(b)
Salvage;
(c)
Agreement relating to the use, hire, hire-purchase or
loan of any ship, provision of transport service, or any
other similar agreement;
(d)
Agreement relating to the carriage of goods
on a ship under bill of lading;
(e)
General average act where the shipowners, the
carriers and the owners of such goods as carried in a ship are
bound to compensate the owners of a particular property for
the loss or damage caused to such property in consequence of
an intentional act which is necessarily and reasonably done
for the common safety of the ship and goods carried therein
or are bound to reimburse them for any extraordinary expenses
necessarily incurred for the common benefit of all the parties
concerned or for the common safety of the ship and goods carried
therein, provided that there exists a specific law or mutual
agreement governing liability in this regard.
(f) Loss or damage to properties carried in any
ship;
(g) Towage;
(h) Pilotage;
(i)
Goods
or materials wherever supplied to a ship for its operation or
maintenance;
(j) Construction, repair or equipment of any ship
or dock charges and dues;
(k)Port facilitates or port charges or dues;
(l) Stevedoring
charges;
(m)Wages of ship masters or personnel;
(n) Master’s disbursements, including disbursements
made by charterers, agents, or shippers on behalf of the owner
or controller of a ship;
(o)Disputes as to the ownership of a ship;
(p)Disputes between co-owners of a ship as to its
possession, employment or earnings;
(q)Mortgage of a ship.
Creditor
means a person to whom a
maritime claim refers as a claimant.
Competent
Official means
a person who is appointed by the Minister of Transport and
Communications for the execution of this Act.
Court
means the Civil Court, the Thonburi Civil Court and Provincial
Courts.
Minister
the Minister who is in charge of this Act.
Section 4. Subject
to the provisions of Sections 5 and 6, before initiating an
action in the Court, a creditor who is action in the Court,
a creditor who is domiciled in Thailand may apply to the Court
for an order direction that any ship owned by a debtor or
which is in his possession shall be arrested, irrespective
of whether he is domiciled in Thailand, as collateral sufficient
to satisfy a maritime claim in respect of such ship.
The application so made shall be by way of petition
with the Court within whose jurisdiction the ship to be arrested
is or will enter.
Section 5.
A creditor may petition the Court to arrest a ship
of which a debtor is in possession, not owned by him, if the
cause of maritime claim arises out of the ship or its business
activities and if the debtor has been in possession of the
ship at the time when the maritime claim arises and when the
arrest is appliced for.
Section 6. Where
a maritime claim involves either disputes as to the ownership
of a ship, disputes between coowners of a ship as to its possession,
employment or earnings, or disputes over the mortgage of ship,
no creditor shall petition the Court to arrest any ship other
than that giving rise to those disputes and which is owned
by a debtor or is in his possession.
Section 7. A
petition for ship arrest shall be ex parte.A
petition for ship arrest shall set forth the nature of a maritime
claim and the debt to which it refers and shall specify at
least the names of the creditor, the debtor, the ship and
its registration number, dimensions, nationality and port
of registry, including the name of its master or controller,
if known, and location or place where the ship lies.
Section 8. Upon
acceptance of a petition for ship arrest, the Court shall
hold an ex parte inquiry into such petition without delay.
The
Court shall order an arrest of such ship if it is satisfied
by the evidence introduced by the creditor that the alleged
maritime claim is founded, on which the arrest applied for
relies and, if the ship to be arrested is not in Thailand
at the time when the petition is filed, after the creditor
has shown to the satisfaction of the Court that such ship
will enter the Kingdom and come within the jurisdiction of
the Court.
In
the issue of an order for arrest under paragraph two, if the
debtor has no domicile in Thailand, the Court may, before
enforcing such order, direct the creditor to furnish such
security as it thinks fit to cover any damage arising out
of the arrest, for which the creditor may be liable to the
debtor. But, if the debtor is domiciled in Thailand,
the Court shall, before enforcing such order, always direct
the creditor to furnish security to the Court, unless the
creditor has shown to the satisfaction of the Court that the
debtor’s other properties located in Thailand are insufficient
to satisfy the creditor.
In
its order for arrest made under paragraph town, the Court
shall set forth such security as to be furnished by the debtor
or person under Section 22 for obtaining the release of such
ship.
An
order for arrest under this Section shall be final.
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