Arrest of Vessels Under the Arrest Convention 1952: Charterer's Debts and Privileged Claims

The Reed Smith Paris Shipping team includes Andrew Tetley, Ana Atallah, Emmanuelle Faivre, Aurélie Lopez, Antoine Guillemot, Diana Jacquot.

In this bulletin, we once again draw on our annual review of developments in French shipping law, with particular reference to this year's report by Andrew Tetley, published in the Lloyd's Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly Yearbook.

In Bur-Mar Shipping and Trade Co Ltd v Monjasa (Cass, Com, 19 November 2025, n°24-11.520), the French Supreme Court (Cour de cassation) clarified the conditions under which a vessel may be arrested for a charterer's debts under the Brussels Convention of 10 May 1952 (the Arrest Convention 1952).

This Cour de Cassation decision offers greater legal certainty to shipowners where time charterer’s debts are alleged in support of a vessel arrest in France, and also highlights an important difference with English law.

Download the PDF copy of the article to read more.

This article was originally published on Lloyd’s Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly and is republished with permission.