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Головна News ANK Law Firm Released m/t “MALBURG”

ANK Law Firm Released m/t “MALBURG”

ANK Law Firm has successfully secured the lifting of the arrest imposed on the vessel MALBURG (IMO 9035539), which had been arrested upon request of a foreign company to secure a maritime claim exceeding USD 468,000.

During the appellate review, it was established that the claimant deliberately did not disclose to the Commercial Court of Odesa Region the fact that an arbitration proceeding regarding this dispute had already been initiated. According to applicable procedural law, in the event of ongoing arbitration, applications for interim measures are not to be submitted to commercial courts, but rather to the court of appeal, as chosen by the applicant – at the location of the arbitration (arbitral tribunal), the respondent’s domicile, or the location of the respondent’s assets. In this case, jurisdiction lay with the Odesa Court of Appeal.

The South-Western Commercial Court of Appeal, cancelling the ruling of the court of first instance, emphasised the following:

  • The applicable procedural law (Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine) clearly defines the jurisdiction for applications for securing claims in matters referred to international commercial arbitration – such applications may only be filed with a court of appeal (Civil Jurisdiction), not a commercial court (Commercial Jurisdiction).

  • Parties must adhere to the principle of good faith, which prohibits abuse of procedural rights. In contrast, the claimant intentionally kept from the court the fact of the ongoing arbitration.

  • The court also accepted translations of foreign documents that were not notarized, and provided a reasoned explanation for the validity of such acceptance.

The full text of the decision of the South-Western Commercial Court of Appeal dated May 28, 2025, in case No. 916/1403/25 is available at the following link: https://reyestr.court.gov.ua/Review/127823053

Throughout the proceedings, the claimant repeatedly resorted to procedural manipulation: hiding the arbitration from the first-instance court, attempting to mislead the appellate court, and unjustifiably including the vessel’s registered owner—who had no relation to the dispute—as a co-defendant. These actions were aimed solely at creating an illusion of jurisdiction for both the commercial court and subsequently the Odesa Court of Appeal.

After the arrest was lifted, the claimant made an unsuccessful attempt to detain the vessel again by submitting a new request to the harbourmaster. However, under the Merchant Shipping Code of Ukraine, such detention is allowed for no more than three days – a term that had long since expired.

Thanks to the efforts of ANK`s attorneys, free pratique was granted to the vessel and she left Ukrainian waters as part of a Ukrainian Navy-coordinated convoy via the national maritime corridor.

This decision by the court of appeal sets an important precedent for the legal practice of maritime disputes in Ukraine, particularly regarding jurisdictional boundaries, the prevention of abuse of rights, and the enforcement of good faith in judicial proceedings.

Currently, the shipowner is calculating the damages resulting from the unlawful arrest and intends to file a claim for compensation against the claimant.

This case is being handled by maritime law attorneys Artem Volkov and Kostiantyn Moriakov, under the general supervision of Managing Partner, Oleksandr Kyfak.