Landmark case sparks maritime lecture in Jamaica

JAMAICA’S AMBITION to become a leading maritime centre took a significant step forward recently as legal experts and industry stakeholders gathered at the Norman Manley Law School for a crucial lecture on maritime law.

Hosted by the Maritime Authority of Jamaica (MAJ), in partnership with the Maritime Law Committee of The Jamaican Bar Association, the Norman Manley Law School, and Myers, Fletcher & Gordon, attorneys-at-law, the lecture explored Jamaica’s evolving landscape of maritime legislation and its implications for Jamaica’s shipping industry.

Leading the discussion was Dr Ann Fenech, president of the Comité Maritime International — the largest non-governmental maritime law organisation worldwide. Dr Fenech delivered a lecture on the complexities of ship arrests and judicial sales, drawing on her extensive experience and involvement in high-profile maritime cases, including the Trading Fabriza incident, which recounts the case of a general cargo vessel which was arrested and sold by the Jamaican Supreme Court in 2018, and later rearrested in Malta despite receiving a clean title in Jamaica.

Dr Fenech’s presentation provided a comprehensive analysis of the legal challenges surrounding ship arrests, a process used to secure creditors’ claims. She emphasised the importance of Jamaica becoming a signatory to the Beijing Convention on the International Effects of Judicial Sale of Ships, which standardises the procedure for granting unencumbered titles to purchasers of ships sold through judicial sales.

“Jamaica played a pivotal role in the finalisation and adoption of the Judicial Sales Convention in 2023. The Trading Fabriza case highlighted the necessity of having a clear and harmonised regime for judicial sales, ensuring legal certainty for international buyers,” Dr Fenech said.

The importance of this legal development was shared by Bertrand Smith, director general of the MAJ, who said strengthening Jamaica’s maritime legal framework is important for the nation’s ambition to become a global shipping hub.

“We are here, in large part, due to the vessel that made history in Jamaica and across the globe,” Smith said, highlighting the MAJ’s dual mandate of regulating ships and driving the growth of Jamaica’s shipping industry.

He cautioned that as Jamaica expands its shipping services, a strong legal framework is essential to manage the anticipated rise in maritime claims. “We will have more Jamaican ships operating globally and more foreign ships in our waters. This means more maritime claims, and we must ensure our jurisdiction can competently handle these matters”.

“The hosting of the lecture on the arrest of ships and judicial sales is part of the MAJ’s mandate to promote Jamaica as a shipping centre. With the growth of bunkering, ship repair services, and the expansion of the authority’s mega yacht and commercial ship registries, there will be an increase in maritime claims. It is therefore essential that the bench and Bar in Jamaica are au fait with the nuances involved in the arrest and judicial sale of ships,” Smith said.

The event brought together a distinguished audience of legal and maritime professionals, including Chairman of the Board of Directors of MAJ and President of the Shipping Association of Jamaica, Corah Ann Robertson-Sylvester.

Dr Fenech’s visit to Jamaica also included meetings with Attorney General Derrick McKoy and Chief Justice Bryan Sykes, where she discussed the importance of the Judicial Sales Convention and its implications for Jamaica’s admiralty jurisdiction.