The arrest of ships constitutes an effective tool that allows cargo interests, shipowners and other shipping opperators to claim maritime credits.

If you need to arrest or release your ship, Castell.law offers a 24/7 service.  Our emergency number is: +44 7391431006

1) What does it involve?

The particular characteristics and the international face of the shipping business make the ship arrest an important measure of pressure to collect certain debts. Due to the strategic location and the thousands of kilometers of the Spanish coastline, the Spanish jurisdiction becomes a useful legal tool to obtain the reimbursement of the credit or a surety bond, situations where Castell.law will advise you on whether the vessel seizure or its release according to your specific interests.

2) What is the applicable law? 

The ship arrest and its release in Spain are both regulated by the 1999 Geneva International Convention on the Arrest of Ships, the articles contained in the Spanish Maritime Navigation Law (LNM) and the rules contained in the Spanish Civil Procedure Law (LEC).

3) How does it affect your enterprise? 

If you want to order the seizure of a vessel for recovering an outstanding credit/debt, you just need to allege the right or maritime credit and its motivating cause. The balance for that simplicity and the absence of accreditation is restricted with the requirement of a security deposit to cover any possible damages and expenses resulting from the ship arrest. The minimum security deposit is 15% of the total claimed amount according to the Maritime Navigation Law (LNM), regardless of the Court’s decision to increase this quantity.

4) How and where we operate?

The speed of our action in representation of your interests relies on the intrinsic mobility of the ship, the brief stopovers in port and the internationality of its operations, which expose the urgency of proceeding in time to the arrest, presuming the risk of procedural delay and urgency. Likewise, speed is needed for the lifting of the arrest so that the cargo interests or shipowner can carry on with the course of their business and avoid port congestion.

We offer assistance to any type of vessels, including but not limiting to bulk carriers, oil tankers, cruises, ferries, container ships, reefer carriers, chemical tankers, coasting vessels, ro-ro cargoes and the vast majority of recreational boats.

We offer our services in the main national ports around Spain, including ports of Balearic Islands, especially in Mallorca, Ibiza, Menorca and Formentera, among others.