Ship release in Belgium

The client – owner of the vessel detained by Port State Control at one of the Belgian Ports, applied to Interlegal for vessel release as soon as possible.

Problem was the following. Belgian authorities were ready to grant permission for the vessel to leave, as soon as PJS remarks are corrected – GIVEN ONLY the bank guarantee (issued by the Belgian bank only) covering all the potential claims of Belgian authorities. Both shipowner’s company and bank were European, but not Belgian; therefore the client had no chances to obtain the Belgian bank guarantee.

Since the vessel was preparing to leave the port on Friday evening, bank guarantee should have been issued in less than one day, in order to avoid losses for the vessel idle stay at the weekends.

Interlegal lawyers, jointly with their Belgian colleagues, drafted all the required documents and committed all the necessary actions aimed at issuing bank guarantee in due time, so the vessel could leave the port as soon as she was ready to do it.

Interlegal associated partner Alexey Remeslo and lawyer Mykola Kozachenko led the case.