North Star Ship Chandler Inc. v. The Giuseppe Di Vittorio

In Admiralty Practice, In Rem Actions and Arrest on (Updated )

This was a motion to dismiss the action in rem and set aside the arrest of a sistership. The Defendant maintained that the alleged sistership, the "Lynx", had a different owner from the "Giuseppe Di Vittorio", the ship was the subject of the action. The Defendant relied on the Lloyd’s List of Shipowners and Monthly Supplement which showed Black Sea Shipping Co. as the owner of the "Giuseppe Di Vittorio" and Stockwell as the owner of the "Lynx". The Plaintiff presented evidence in the form of an invoice which mentioned Black Sea Shipping Co. and also presented an excerpt from Lloyd’s Maritime Directory 1998 listing the "Lynx" under the name Black Sea Shipping Co., albeit with the name "Stockwell" in parenthesis. The Prothonotary held that there was sufficient evidence for the Plaintiff to conclude the "Lynx" had the same beneficial ownership as the "Giuseppe Di Vittorio" and dismissed the motion.