Short answer. A yacht held in a French port has usually been arrested by a creditor, whether a yard, a supplier, the crew, a broker, a bank, or a buyer or seller in dispute, on the authority of a judge and on a claim that merely appears well founded in principle. The vessel may no longer leave port, but nothing is lost: the arrest can be lifted within days by providing security, typically an irrevocable bank guarantee, whose constitution brings release as of right, or challenged before the judge who authorised it, with damages if it was unjustified. The creditor must commence proceedings on the merits within one month or the arrest lapses. The first forty-eight hours decide the cost and the length of the detention.
The master calls: a judicial officer has come aboard in Antibes, Cannes, Saint-Tropez, Le Havre or La Rochelle, served a document, appointed a custodian, and the harbour master has been told the yacht may not sail. The owner, often abroad, discovers a disputed yard invoice, a broker’s commission, crew wages or a sale dispute he thought was settled.
Understanding what has been done: conservatory arrest or execution
In almost every case this is a conservatory arrest. Any person whose claim appears well founded in principle may apply for leave to arrest a ship (article L. 5114-22 of the Transport Code), under the regime of the Code of civil enforcement procedures, subject to international conventions and to the rules specific to vessels. The creditor needs no judgment and not even a certain claim: a disputed invoice, a claim for compensation or a contested commission will do if the judge considers the claim well founded in principle and recovery threatened, which is almost always accepted for a vessel that is mobile by nature and often foreign. Unlike ordinary conservatory measures, leave is always required, even where the creditor holds an enforceable title, and the competent judge is that of the place where the vessel lies.
The deed of arrest must state, on pain of nullity, the judge’s authorisation, the creditor’s name and address, the sum claimed in principal, interest and costs, the identification of the vessel, the statement that she may no longer leave port reproducing article L. 5114-21, and notice that the debtor may challenge the arrest before the court that ordered it; a custodian is appointed and signs. The first step is therefore to obtain that deed and the annexed order and have a lawyer read them: a missing particular is a ground of nullity, and the order reveals what the creditor told the judge, without any opponent present, to obtain leave. Execution sale is different: it requires an enforceable title and leads to a forced sale by auction after a demand for payment. It is rare on a yacht in commercial dispute.
The 1952 Brussels Convention: which claims, which vessel
Where the yacht flies the flag of a State party to the Brussels Convention of 10 May 1952, which covers the French, British, Maltese, Dutch, Belgian, Spanish, Italian and Greek flags among others, arrest is possible only for a maritime claim as the Convention defines it: damage caused by the ship, salvage, contracts for the use or hire of the ship, supplies and services for her operation or maintenance, construction, repair and equipment, crew wages, disputes over ownership or between co-owners, and mortgages. A claim unconnected with the operation of the vessel, such as a personal loan, a tax debt or a property dispute, does not permit the arrest of a yacht under a Convention flag, and an arrest on such a basis must be set aside. For vessels flying the flag of a non-party State, French law permits arrest for any claim appearing well founded in principle.
The Convention also allows the arrest of another vessel owned by the same owner as the one to which the claim relates, and the arrest of a vessel for the debt of her bareboat charterer where he has nautical management. Conversely, a yacht held by a company cannot be arrested for the personal debts of its beneficial owner, absent proof that the company is a sham or that assets have been commingled. The exact identity of the debtor and of the registered owner is therefore the first thing to check: many yacht arrests target an owning company for a debt incurred by a management company or by the owner personally.
The first forty-eight hours
Four things to do at once. Obtain the deed of arrest, the order and the creditor’s application with its exhibits. Stop all movement of the yacht: an arrested vessel that leaves port without leave exposes her master and owner to proceedings, and the enforcement judge may authorise a specified voyage only on proof of sufficient security. Inform the hull underwriter and, where there is one, the P&I club, since some policies cover the cost of release or provide the security. And quantify the cost of detention, covering port dues, crew, custodianship, a cancelled charter, a sale put at risk and depreciation, which on a substantial yacht runs to thousands of euros a day and drives the choice between immediate security and challenge.
Two reflexes should be resisted. The first is to pay the sum claimed to free the boat: payment is an acknowledgment and closes off the argument on a claim that may well have been contestable, whereas security preserves the debate on the merits. The second is to negotiate directly with the creditor without first checking whether the arrest is regular: a void or unjustified arrest is powerful leverage, and a regular arrest for a well-founded claim settles better once the sums genuinely due have been calculated.
Obtaining release: security or challenge
The quickest route is security. An irrevocable bank guarantee matching the measure sought brings release as of right (article L. 512-1 of the Code of civil enforcement procedures). In practice the guarantee is issued by a French bank, or by the P&I club as a letter of undertaking, for the claim in principal, interest and costs as fixed in the order; the creditor cannot demand more, and the judge may reduce the figure where the demand is manifestly excessive. The yacht is released as soon as the guarantee is delivered, within one to three days where the bank or club moves quickly, and the dispute continues on the merits with the vessel free. The judge may also, at the debtor’s request, substitute any other measure apt to protect the parties’ interests, such as a deposit or security over another asset.
The second route is a challenge before the judge who authorised the arrest, by application for an urgent hearing. He orders release where the statutory conditions are not met: a claim that does not appear well founded in principle, no threat to recovery, an arrest outside the scope of the 1952 Convention, a debtor who is not the owner of the vessel, or an irregular deed. Where release is ordered, the creditor may be ordered to compensate the loss caused by the measure, covering port and custodianship costs, a lost charter and, where applicable, a lost sale. The two routes are not exclusive: owners commonly post security to free the yacht, then challenge the arrest to recover the security and obtain compensation.
Lapse: the creditor has one month
On pain of the measure lapsing, a creditor without an enforceable title must, within the month following execution of the arrest, commence proceedings or take the steps necessary to obtain a title. That action on the merits need not be brought in France: where the contract contains an arbitration clause or a foreign jurisdiction clause, it is the arbitration or the foreign court that must be seised within the month, the French arrest serving only to obtain security.
A creditor who lets the period pass loses his arrest, and the owner can have the lapse declared by the enforcement judge and recover the security. The calendar therefore has to be kept precisely on both sides, and it is the single most common way in which an arrest that looked solid comes undone.
The claims most often seen on a yacht, and how to handle them
Yard and refit invoices come first. The yard arrests the yacht as she leaves the works or after non-payment, often for a figure including disputed extras. The answer is to secure the undisputed amount, contest the balance on the merits, and deploy claims for delay or defective work, which set off against the yard’s claim. Crew wages and indemnities come next: they are privileged, arrest is swift and courts are receptive; the contracts, the governing law and the sums genuinely due should be checked, and what is owed should be paid.
Broker’s commission, sale disputes where a buyer claims his deposit or a seller is unpaid, and charter disputes where a client claims a refund form the third category; there the arrest is frequently contestable, either on the basis of the claim or on the capacity of the owner. Mortgagees rarely arrest on a conservatory basis, since the mortgage already gives them security; their arrest is the prelude to a forced sale and is handled by negotiating a rescheduling or a private sale.
What is not a creditor’s arrest: customs, pollution, port State control, sanctions
A yacht may be held for other reasons, which do not fall to the enforcement judge. Customs detain a vessel for a customs offence or where her status is in doubt, whether unpaid VAT, expired temporary admission or an irregular flag; release comes through regularisation or a guarantee, and through challenge before the civil court within the periods set by the Customs Code. Where there has been a polluting discharge, the vessel may be detained by decision of the public prosecutor or the investigating judge, at the owner’s expense, and released against a bond; that decision can be challenged within five days before the liberty and custody judge under article L. 218-30 of the Environment Code.
Port State control may detain a commercially operated yacht with safety deficiencies until they are corrected. And a yacht belonging to a person subject to an asset freeze, under Regulation (EU) No 269/2014 or another sanctions measure, is not arrested but frozen: she cannot be moved or sold without authorisation from the French Treasury, and the situation is handled by an application for derogation or by a challenge to the designation. Confusing these situations wastes valuable time; the document served and the authority that issued it tell you immediately which one you are in.
What detention costs, and what release costs
For a yacht of thirty to fifty metres, detention costs between two and five thousand euros a day in port dues, crew and custodianship, before counting a lost charter, which runs from one hundred to two hundred and fifty thousand euros a week, or a lost sale. A bank guarantee costs an annual commission of the order of one to two per cent of the sum guaranteed and presupposes that the owner has the cash or the facility; a P&I club provides it without immediate cost where the claim falls within cover.
A challenge in summary proceedings is heard within one to three weeks, and an action on the merits takes twelve to eighteen months. Against those figures, immediate security followed by a challenge is almost always the rational course, except where the arrest is manifestly irregular and the judge can be seised within forty-eight hours.
How the firm works
From the moment of service, the firm obtains and analyses the deed of arrest and the order, identifies the nature of the detention, checks the flag and the application of the 1952 Convention, the capacity of the debtor and the regularity of the deed, quantifies what is genuinely owed and what is contestable, and organises in parallel the security, whether bank, P&I club or deposit, and the challenge before the enforcement judge.
It negotiates release against reduced security or partial payment, obtains leave for a specified voyage where needed, monitors the one-month lapse period, and brings or defends the action on the merits, in France, in arbitration or before the foreign court designated by the contract. It also acts for legitimate creditors who need to arrest, and for buyers of arrested yachts. Based in Paris, the firm acts in all French ports, from Antibes to Dunkirk, in English, working with masters, management companies, brokers and foreign counsel.
Is your yacht held in a French port? Every day counts. Send the firm the deed of arrest and you will know within twenty-four hours what can be done.
Frequently asked questions
Can a creditor arrest my yacht without a judgment?
Yes. Conservatory arrest is authorised by the judge of the place where the vessel lies, on a claim that appears well founded in principle (article L. 5114-22 of the Transport Code), without any title or judgment. The creditor must then commence proceedings on the merits within one month or the arrest lapses.
How do I get my yacht released quickly?
By providing an irrevocable bank guarantee matching the measure, whose constitution brings release as of right (article L. 512-1), or a P&I club guarantee, or by challenging the arrest before the judge who authorised it. The two routes combine: security to free the yacht, challenge to recover the security and obtain compensation.
Can a foreign-flagged yacht be arrested in a French port?
Yes. If the flag is that of a State party to the 1952 Brussels Convention, arrest is possible only for a maritime claim within the Convention; for other flags, for any claim appearing well founded in principle.
Can my yacht leave port during the arrest?
No, except with leave of the enforcement judge for one or more specified voyages, on proof of sufficient security (article L. 5114-21 of the Transport Code). Sailing without leave exposes the master and the owner to proceedings.
Can I obtain damages if the arrest was unjustified?
Yes. Where release is ordered by the judge, the creditor may be ordered to compensate the loss caused by the measure (article L. 512-2), including port and custodianship costs and a lost charter or sale.
Further reading: arresting a ship in France to secure a claim, ship mortgages and how to check them, maritime litigation.
Written by Hervé Guyader, avocat at the Paris Bar, doctor of law. This content is general information and is no substitute for advice on your own matter.