Legal Implications of Shipbuilding Contracts under the 1952 Brussels Convention

1. The shipbuildingcontract and the insufficientprotectionafforded by the 1952 Brussels Convention on the arrest of ships Maurizio Dardani

2. The delivery of the vessel acrucial moment for both parties The followinglegalconsequences derive from delivery • The passage of title to the vessel • The right of the builder to claimpayment of the balance price • The exemption from liabilityexcept for the guarantee

3. Deliverable or non deliverable:the conflict of interests • The builder = to convince the buyer that the vessel hasbeencompleted and is ready for delivery • The buyer= to persuade the builder to eliminate allpossibledefects, even the minor defects, before the vessel istendered for delivery

4. The genuine interest of the buyer to take delivery of a vessel whichis immune from: • Major defects • Defectsaffectingclass • Defectsaffecting the intendedoperation of the vessel • Minor defects

5. Non genuine interest of the buyer (influenced by factorswhich are extraneous to the conditions of the vessel) • The market • The financialarrangements • The employment of the vessel

6. Anotherimportantlegalconsequencederiving from the delivery Onlyupon delivery the claims of the shipbuilderagainst the ownerbecomemaritimeclaims under the 1952 Brussels Convention on the arrest of ships

7. Article 1 l) of the Convention In this Convention the followingwordsshallhave the meaningsherebyassigned to them: 1. «Maritime claim» means a claimarising from one or more of the following: …………………. l) construction, repair or equipment of anyship or dock charges and dues;

8. Article 3 n. 1 of the Convention ………….a claimantmayarresteither the particularship in respect of which the marittime claimarose, or anyothershipwhichisowned by the personwhowas, at the time when the maritimeclaimarose, the owner of the particularship………

9. Twosituations • The vessel hasbeendelivered • The vessel hasnotbeendelivered and the contracthasbeenrescinded

10. Claims in case of delivery • Both the builder and the ownerhavemaritimeclaims • The builder can arrest the particularship in respect of whichhisclaimarose or a sister vessel of the sameowner • The owner can arrestanothershipowned by the builder by provingthat the claimarosewhen the particularshipwasstillproperty of the builder

11. Claims in case of non delivery • The claim of the builder for damagesderiving from the wrongfullrejection of the vessel • The claim of the owner for damagesderiving from the builder’sfailure to complete the vessel in time

12. 1) Claims of the builder • the builder cannotarrestthe vessel in respect of which the claimarose • the builder cannotarrestanyother vessel owned by the sameshipownerbecausethey are notsistervesselswithin the meaning of article 3.n.1 of the Convention

13. 2) Claims of the owner • The owner can arrest the vessel in respect of which the claimarose • The owner can arrestanothershipowned by the builder