Southern Africa is often overlooked as a prime destination for judicial sales or forced sales of ships and other maritime property. In most cases, the judicial sales that occur in Southern Africa are as a result of the ship fortuitously calling within the jurisdiction and being arrested for other claims.
Whether by way of a judicial sale pendente lite (before final judgment) or a ‘pre-pack’ structured sale and workout by a financing institution or mortgagee, both Namibia and South Africa provide for quick and cost-effective solutions in respect of the judicial sale process, especially when compared with more well-known jurisdictions like Malta and Singapore.
Key benefits of proceeding in Namibia or South Africa include:
South Africa:
- Effective and organised court system
- Judicial sale pendente lite is possible
- Experienced local court-appointed broker offering a competitive commission structure
- Private treaty, sealed tender and public auction are possible within abridged time periods
- Ranking of claimants is determined in accordance with the Admiralty Jurisdiction Regulation Act 105 of 1983
- Strategically positioned geographically
- No court fees or sheriff (Admiralty Marshall) fees
Namibia:
- Effective and organised court system with dedicated Admiralty Judge(s)
- Judicial sale pendente lite is possible
- Experienced local court-appointed broker offering a competitive commission structure
- Private treaty, sealed tender and public auction are possible within abridged time periods
- Ranking is determined by English law as at 1890, which means that the mortgagee, as a result of English priorities, ranks first
- Safe harbour with low port dues at Walvis Bay
- Strategically positioned geographically
- No court fees or sheriff (Admiralty Marshall) fees
All judicial sales in Namibia and South Africa result in the vessel being sold with clean title, free of all liens and encumbrances.
In terms of recent activity, the 2012 built MV Sevgi (IMO 9458406), is scheduled to be auctioned by way of a judicial auction sale on 16 May 2024. The sale will be conducted virtually using MS Teams.
The 166m long, 27.4m wide ship is powered by a MAN B&W 6S40ME-B main engine, with auxiliary power coming from three Yanmar 6EY18AL generators and a Cummins 6CT8.3-D(M) emergency electrical generating power unit. She has three deck cranes as follows, over a total hold cargo of 39.102.02 m³:
- Crane #1: SWL 45 Ts
- Crane #2: SWL 45 / 60 / 200 Ts
- Crane #3: SWL 45 / 60 / 200 Ts
If you need more information or assistance regarding enforcement in Southern Africa or have a client who might be interested in bidding on the above sale, you can contact the Bowmans Shipping team, which has extensive experience and expertise in ship arrests, judicial sale, mortgage foreclosure, ship sales and emergency response throughout Southern Africa.
