The Helene Roth

JurisdictionEngland & Wales
Date1979
CourtQueen's Bench Division (Admiralty)
[QUEEN'S BENCH DIVISION] THE HELENE ROTH [1978 Folio 699] 1979 Nov. 29, 30; Dec. 7 Sheen J.

Admiralty - Practice - Writ - Renewal - No opportunity to serve writ - Change of ship's ownership after issue of writ - Whether good and sufficient cause established for renewal of writ - R.S.C., Ord. 6, r. 8 - Ships' Names - Helene Roth

The plaintiffs, ship chandlers, claimed to have made disbursements in November 1977, on behalf of a vessel berthed at Montreal at the request of the owners, a company registered in Cyprus. The company failed to reimburse the plaintiffs who issued a writ in an action in rem claiming the moneys due. The writ named three of the company's ships. The plaintiffs arranged for a special watch to be kept by the appropriate department at Lloyd's for the ships but none of them appeared within the jurisdiction and the writ lapsed on November 8. 1979. On November 18, 1979, the Helene Roth, one of the named ships entered the port of London. On the application of the plaintiffs, the registrar extended the validity of the writ and the Helene Roth was arrested. Unknown to the plaintiffs, however, the Helene Roth had been sold by her owners a few days before her arrival in London to another company in the same group, who were given leave to intervene in the proceedings.

On the interveners' motion to set aside the renewal of the writ: —

Held, dismissing the motion, (1) that as it could be shown that all reasonable steps had been taken in an endeavour to serve the writ and it appeared that none of the ships named on the face of the writ had come within the jurisdiction there were good and sufficient grounds for the renewal of the writ (post, pp. 551H–552B, 553B).

The Berny [1979] Q.B. 80 applied.

(2) That, where a claimant had issued a writ against a ship to enforce a claim against the owner. but before the writ had been served the owner transferred the ship to another person, the claimant's right to enforce his claim against the res should be protected, and, in those circumstances, the case for renewing the writ was overwhelming (post, p. 553D–E); that, since the Admiralty jurisdiction was well known among shipowners, a person to whom a ship was transferred should have taken precautions at the time of the transfer to indemnify himself agalnst possible claims against the previous owner and since, in the present case, those concerned with the transfer of the ownership of the ship between companies in the same group must have known of possible pending claims and, therefore, there could be no question of the interveners being prejudiced and the writ would be renewed (post, pp. 553D–E, H–554E).

The Monica S. [1968] P. 741 applied.

The following cases are referred to in the judgment:

Berny, The [1979] Q.B. 80; [1978] 2 W.L.R. 387; [1978] 1 All E.R. 1065.

Monica S., The [1968] P. 741; [1968] 2 W.L.R. 431; [1967] 3 All E.R. 740.

The following additional cases were cited in argument:

Aro Co. Ltd., In re [1980] 2 W.L.R. 453, C.A.

Battersby v. Anglo-American Oil Co. Ltd. [1945] K.B. 23; [1944] 2 All L.R. 387, C.A.

Esplanoleto, The [1920] P. 223.

Heaven v. Road and Rail Wagons Ltd. [1965] 2 Q.B. 355; [1965] 2 W.L.R. 1249; [1965] 2 All E.R. 409.

Hewett v. Barr [1891] 1 Q.B. 98, C.A.

Jones v. Jones [1970] 2 Q.B. 576; [1970] 3 W.L.R. 20; [1970] 3 All E.R. 47, C.A.

Rena K, The [1979] Q.B. 377; [1978] 3 W.L.R. 431; [1979] 1 All E.R. 397.

Wladyslaw Lokietek, The [1978] 2 Lloyd's Rep. 520.

MOTION

The plaintiffs, the Clipper Ship Supply Ltd. of Montreal, who were ship chandlers, claimed for disbursements made by them on account of the Royal Clipper at the request of her owners, Joseph Roth (Cyprus) Shipping Co. Ltd. (“Joseph Roth”) in November 1977. On November 8, 1978, the plaintiffs' solicitors issued a writ in an action in rem against three ships owned by Joseph Roth (1978 Folio 699) claiming the moneys due. The _ writ named the Helene Roth, the Viktoria Roth and the Anton Roth. The writ lapsed on November 8, 1979. On November 26, 1979, the Admiralty Registrar renewed the writ on the application of the plaintiffs and the Helene Roth was arrested at the port of London.

By notice of motion dated November 29, 1979, the Helene Roth Maritime Co. Ltd. of Limassol (the interveners) sought to have the renewal of the writ and the service of it set aside on the ground that the ownership of the Helene Roth had been transferred to them. They also sought the unconditional release of the Helene Roth and were granted leave to intervene in the action.

The facts are stated in the judgment.

Richard Mawrey for the interveners.

Charles Macdonald for the plaintiffs.

Cur. adv. vult.

December 7. SHEEN J. read the following judgment. The plaintiffs in this action are a company incorporated in Canada carrying on business as ship chandlers in Montreal. It is alleged by the plaintiffs that in November 1977 they made disbursements for the ship Royal Clipper as agents at the request of and for...

To continue reading

Request your trial
6 cases
  • Elinoil-Hellenic Petroleum Co SA v Wee Ramayah & Partners
    • Singapore
    • High Court (Singapore)
    • 31 Marzo 1999
    ...claims are not affected by any subsequent changes of ownership: see the famous cases of The Monica S [1968] P 741 and The Helene Roth [1980] 1 QB 273. Is sale invalid on ground of contempt or illegality? The next main point of argument of WRP is that a private sale by the owners, while the ......
  • Kuo Fen Ching and Another v Dauphin Offshore Engineering & Trading Pte Ltd
    • Singapore
    • Court of Appeal (Singapore)
    • 2 Julio 1999
    ...changes in ownership once the writ in rem relating to the statutory lien had been issued. This conclusion was reached in The Helene Roth [1980] 1 QB 273. Sheen J stated in this case that one of the functions of the admiralty court and jurisdiction is to assist creditors to obtain satisfacti......
  • Lim Bok Lai v Selco (Singapore) Pte Ltd
    • Singapore
    • High Court (Singapore)
    • 27 Agosto 1987
    ...claims are not affected by any subsequent changes of ownership: see the famous cases of The Monica S [1968] P 741 and The Helene Roth [1980] 1 QB 273. These decisions account for the usual provisions in agreements for sales of ships whereby sellers would have to indemnify buyers against los......
  • The Vita
    • United Kingdom
    • Queen's Bench Division (Admiralty)
    • Invalid date
  • Request a trial to view additional results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT