ORDINARY CREDITORS EXCLUDED FROM LODGING CLAIMS AGAINST MARITIME PROPERTY SOLD IN EXECUTION

In the recent judgment of LBH Mozambique Limitada v The Fund of the Proceeds of Sale of Cargo on board the MV “Red Fin” and China Construction Bank Corporation (available here), the Durban High Court has confirmed that only creditors with genuine “maritime claims” in terms of section 1 of the Admiralty Jurisdiction Regulation Act 105 of 1983 may claim from a fund formed by a debtor’s maritime property which has been judicially attached and sold. Ordinary creditors with claims of a non-maritime nature are not entitled to lodge claims and compete with maritime creditors in the distribution of a fund.