MT Pretty Scene: Galsworthy Ltd v Pretty Scene Shipping S.A. and Another

Galsworthy Ltd concluded a time charter party in 2007 with Parakou Shipping PTE Ltd in respect of the MV Canton Trader (later renamed Jin Kang). Parakou repudiated the charter when it refused to take delivery of the vessel following the collapse of the charter market after the 2008 financial crisis. Galsworthy obtained two London arbitration awards against Parakou Shipping, awarding substantial damages. To enforce these awards, Galsworthy instituted an action in rem in South Africa and arrested the MT Pretty Scene in June 2016 as an alleged associated ship to the Jin Kang in terms of the Admiralty Jurisdiction Regulation Act 105 of 1983 (AJRA). The owner of the Pretty Scene, Pretty Scene Shipping SA, applied to set aside the arrest, arguing inter alia that the summons was procedurally defective. The first arrest was set aside by the High Court, and in anticipation of this, Galsworthy effected a second arrest, which was initially upheld. On appeal, the full court set aside both arrests and ordered security for a wrongful arrest claim. Galsworthy appealed to the Supreme Court of Appeal.

The appeal was upheld with costs. The orders of the full court setting aside both arrests and granting security for wrongful arrest were set aside. The application to set aside the arrest of the MT Pretty Scene was dismissed with costs, and the appeal relating to the second arrest was dismissed with costs.

This judgment is significant for clarifying South African admiralty procedure, particularly the relationship between summonses and warrants of arrest, the interpretation of Admiralty Rule 2 and Practice Directive 27, and the law on associated ship arrests. It reinforces a pragmatic and flexible approach to in rem arrests and provides authoritative guidance on when a maritime claim arises and the permissibility of successive arrests.