Things to take note of when filing Admiralty documents in EFS

When filing ‘Writ Of Summons in Admiralty Action’ document.

  1. Please be careful to select the ‘Writ of Summons in Admiralty Action’ if you intend to file an Admiralty writ. Do not select the ‘Writ of Summons’ document for this purpose. 
  2. There should be at least one Plaintiff and one Defendant. There could be more than one Defendant. 
  3. ‘Place of Registration’ in Party Information page is a mandatory field for Defendants and ‘Admiralty In Rem’ action. 
  4. Vessel Name should be entered as Defendant Information. Though the defendant may be the owner of the Vessel, you are only required to enter the Vessel Name in ‘Party Name/Owner Of’ field in Party Information page. Please note that there is no need to type in ‘Owner of the Ship or Vessel “XYZ”’ in this field. It is sufficient to type in just ‘XYZ’. However, the system does not restrict you from entering whichever way you want and will not reject your submission if you have entered as in the first example.
  5. The Vessel Information specified in the PDF document must be entered as Defendant Information while filing the Writ Of Summons In Admiralty Action document.

        Let us assume that the PDF document in the Writ Of Summons In Admiralty Action document has the following Vessel details:

  1. Alexandra (No. S1234), Port of Registry - Panama
  2. Kahenda Ace (No. S1235), Port of Registry – Singapore

When filing the Writ Of Summons In Admiralty Action document, make sure that each of the Vessel Information that appears in the PDF document has its own party details. Vessel Information should be entered as Defendant Information in EFS by clicking on ‘Add Party’ button at the Submission Information Page. The Party Information Page should therefore have the following details pertaining to the first vessel:

Defendant Name (Party Name/Owner Of): Alexandra
Party ID: S1234
Place of Registration: Panama

Similarly for subsequent Vessel Information, the Defendant Information must be entered by clicking on ‘Add Party’ button at the Submission Information Page. The Party Information Page should therefore have the following details pertaining to the 2nd vessel: 

Defendant Name (Party Name/Owner Of): Kahenda Ace
Party ID: S1235
Place of Registration: Singapore

Please take note that all the vessel names should not be entered in the same ‘Defendant Name’ field. For each vessel, you must separately enter its particulars (name, ID, Port of registry) by clicking on the ‘Add Party’ button.

 

When filing ‘Warrant of Arrest in Admiralty Action’ document. 

  1. Please be careful to select the ‘Warrant of Arrest in Admiralty Action’ if you intend to file a Warrant of Arrest document in an Admiralty action. Do not select the ‘Warrant of Arrest’ document for this purpose. 
  2. The system allows filing of Warrant of Arrest in Admiralty Action and Writ of Summons in Admiralty Action documents together. 
  3. Warrant of Arrest In Admiralty Action document cannot be filed earlier than Writ Of Summons In Admiralty Action document in any case. 
  4. The ‘Vessel Name’, ‘Vessel ID’ and ‘Place of Registration’ to be entered in the More Document Information page for Warrant of Arrest in Admiralty Action document should be EXACTLY the same as the ‘Party Name’, ‘Party ID’ and ‘Place of Registration’ of at least one of the defendants entered at the Party Information page for the Writ of Summons in Admiralty Action document. E.g. Suppose that the Writ of Summons in Admiralty Action had the following details provided:
Defendant Name (Party Name/Owner Of): Alexandra
Party ID: S1234
Place of Registration: Panama 

When filing the Warrant of Arrest in Admiralty Action document, make sure you provide the same details as above. Your Warrant of Arrest in Admiralty Action should therefore have: 

Vessel Name: Alexandra 
Vessel ID: S1234 
Place of Registration: Panama 

If any of the above particulars in the Warrant of Arrest in Admiralty Action does not match with the particulars furnished in the Writ of Summons in Admiralty Action document, the court users will be alerted through a warning message. It is the prerogative of the court to then accept or reject the Warrant of Arrest document.

If in the Writ you had supplied the Defendant name as ‘Owners of ship or vessel “Alexandra”’ then you should quote the Vessel Name in the Warrant of Arrest in Admiralty Action document also as ‘Owners of ship or vessel “Alexandra”’  

 

When filing ‘Vessel/Property Particulars’ document. 

  1. When filing Vessel/Property Particulars document, the  ‘Warrant of Arrest’ number specified in the More Document Information page must relate to the same Admiralty case as the Vessel/Property Particulars document. E.g. Admiralty in Rem Case 1/2002 may have 2 Warrant of Arrest documents (WA 1/2002 and WA 2/2002) related to it. If the Vessel/Property Particulars document is being filed in relation to Admiralty in Rem case 1/2002, then the Warrant of Arrest document quoted in its ‘More Document Information’ page should be either WA 1/2002 or WA 2/2002. If any other WA document number is quoted, the system will reject the Vessel/Property Particulars document. 
  2. The tonnages entered in the More Document Information page for Vessel/Property Particulars document, should be in accordance with the ‘Type of Arrest’ specified in the More Document Information page of Writ of Summons in Admiralty Action document. 
S.No Type Of Arrest Rule
1. Vessel
  • Either Gross Tonnage or Nett Tonnage or both must be specified· 
  • If both Gross Tonnage and Nett Tonnage are specified, Gross Tonnage must not be less than Nett Tonnage
2. Cargo
  • Cargo Tonnage must be specified and it must not be zero· 
  • Gross Tonnage and Nett Tonnage are optional· 
  • If both Gross Tonnage and Nett Tonnage are specified, Gross Tonnage must not be less than Nett Tonnage
3. Vessel & Cargo
  • Both Cargo Tonnage AND (either Gross Tonnage or Nett Tonnage or both) must be specified and they must not be zero· 
  • If both Gross Tonnage and Nett Tonnage are specified, Gross Tonnage must not be less than Nett Tonnage
4 Aircraft
  • If both Gross Tonnage and Nett Tonnage are specified, Gross Tonnage must not be less than Nett Tonnage
5 Others
  • If both Gross Tonnage and Nett Tonnage are specified, Gross Tonnage must not be less than Nett Tonnage 

 

When filing ‘Praecipe For Caveat Against Arrest’ document. 

  1. The Party Type must only be Caveator and only one Caveator can be specified.  

 

When filing ‘Praecipe For Withdrawal Of Caveat Against Arrest’ document. 

  1. The Filing Party Type must only be Caveator and only one Caveator can be specified. 
  2. ‘Vessel Name’ and ‘Vessel ID’ quoted in the More Document Information page when filing Praecipe for Withdrawal of Caveat Against Arrest document should exactly match those specified in the More Document Information page for Praecipe for Caveat Against Arrest document. If one or the other does not match, the praecipe will be rejected by the Gateway. 

 

When filing 'Praecipe For Caveat Against Release And Payment Out' document. 

  1. The Party Type must only be Caveator and only one Caveator can be specified. 
  2. When filing Praecipe For Caveat Against Release And Payment Out document, the ‘Admiralty Case No.’ specified in the More Document Information page must be an EFS case. The system will not be able to accept a non-EFS case and the praecipe will thus be rejected by the Gateway.  

 

When filing 'Praecipe For Withdrawal Of Caveat Against Release And Payment Out' document. 

  1. The Filing Party Type must only be Caveator and only one Caveator can be specified. 
  2. ‘Admiralty Case No.’, ‘Vessel Name’ and ‘Vessel ID’ quoted in the More Document Information page when filing Praecipe For Withdrawal Of Caveat Against Release And Payment Out document should exactly match those specified in the More Document Information page for Praecipe For Caveat Against Release And Payment Out document. If one or the other does not match, the praecipe will be rejected by the Gateway.