Experienced Maritime Lawyers

Bangladesh is a coastal state; its Northern side is widely open by the sea Bay of Bengal. In Bangladesh, major business purposes are served by the sea and admittedly for this reason, Admiralty suits are often initiated and the ratio of such suits has been increased during the last decades. In Bangladesh, the term ‘admiralty law’ is often regarded as the synonymous of ‘maritime law’ of merchant shipping. In general the term maritime is used for sea transport and admiralty refers to the law administered in Courts.

Attorneys of NB & Associates have handled a wide variety of admiralty/maritime cases on behalf of various cruise lines, private vessel owners and other industrial clients.

Such matters include:-

  • Premises liability;
  • Products liability;
  • Maintenance and cure;
  • Limitations of liability;
  • Commercial litigation and general tort liability but not limited to
  • Collision of the vessels
  • Short landing of cargo
  • Non-payment of Crew members salary
  • Claim to the possession or ownership of a ship or to the ownership of any share therein or for recovery of documents of title and ownership of a ship including registration certificate, log book and such certificates as may be necessary for the operation or navigation of the ship;
  • Claim arising out of an act which is or is claimed to be a general average act; etc.

Any person can institute Admiralty suit in Bangladesh against any vessel or Aircraft including its owner and other offending persons. The cause of the suit may arise from above mentioned items.

The admiralty Court of Bangladesh is open for all around the world. The statutory original Jurisdiction of High Court of Bangladesh is guaranteed by the Admiralty Laws.

Arrest of ship is a very special feature of admiralty law. It is a pre-trial remedy critically important to a maritime creditor. The effect of an order of arrest prevents the ship legally from moving or trading unless such order is withdrawn or vacated by the court. It takes about seven days to release a ship from arrest weather to obtain a court order or giving a bank guarantee.

Time requirement & Cost effectivemeasure:

If the party who files the suit does not take adjournments on each stage of the suit, an Admiralty suit may be disposed off within 6 (six) months. The Admiralty court always tries to dispose-off the pending case with in a logical time but does not allow any mala fide attempt by any party. Compromising in an Admiralty suit, is always appreciated by the court in a neutral venue and by amicably settlement. In this situation court may allow time petition and if both the parties reach in a win –win situation i.e. to a settlement, then the court lists out this pending case by submitting a non-prosecution application.

Subject to the provisions of the Court Fees Act, 1870 (Act VII of 1870) shall apply mutatis mutandis to all kinds of action in rem or action in persona suits or claims, brought in the Admiralty Jurisdiction of the High Court Division. Court fee for admiralty suit is an important issue. The Admiralty Court Act, 2000 provides for the application of the Court Fees Act, 1870 is an admiralty suit. Where the suit is valued to an amount below Tk 2 lakh or where the claim amount as stated in the plaint does not exceed the said limit, the court-fee is fixed at Tk 7,100.00. For any amount exceeding Tk 2 lakh court fee would be 1% of the exceeding amount plus [15% VAT] (value added tax) on the total court fee calculated thereon. Proviso to section 7 of the Admiralty Act, 2000 provides for a maximum ad valorem court fee of taka 1,00000/- one lakh for the enforcement of maritime claim or questions. The same proviso provides that, any claim for wages by a master or member of the crew of a ship or any claim for any money or property recoverable as wages of master or member of the crew, the fee chargeable shall be taka one hundred.