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Cases dealt with by the court

You can use the Admiralty Court to solve a shipping or maritime dispute, for instance involving:

• collisions between ships
• damage to cargo
• payment for salvaging a ship
• limiting liability for loss or damage
• ship mortgages or unpaid costs

You can take the owner of the ship to court (an 鈥榠n personam鈥� claim) or make a claim against the ship itself (an 鈥榠n rem鈥� claim).

Your claim will be decided by a High Court Judge or the Admiralty Registrar (a judicial officer who can manage the case).

Most trials take place in the Rolls Building in London, but they can also be held in selected courts around England and Wales.

Help and support

You can get legal advice from a

Court staff can give you guidance on how the process works, but they cannot give you legal advice.

Solving the dispute using arbitration

It may be quicker to use an alternative to court, such as arbitration.

You can use an arbitrator from the or ask the court if a judge can do the arbitration.

Start a court case

To start a case, fill in the relevant form below:

• admiralty claim form
• in rem claim form
• limitation claim form

Access the full list of admiralty forms

If you want damages, explain why the other party was at fault and what you鈥檇 like in compensation.

Pay the court fee

You will have to pay a court fee to start the case.

If you鈥檙e owed money or want compensation, the fee will be based on how much you want to claim.

Claim amount up to鈥�	Court fee
拢300	拢35
拢500	拢50
拢1,000	拢70
拢1,500	拢80
拢3,000	拢115
拢5,000	拢205
拢10,000	拢455
拢200,000	5% of the amount

If your case is worth more than 拢200,000 the fee is 拢10,000.

If you want something other than money, eg to repossess a ship, the fee is 拢480.

You should make cheques payable to 鈥楬M Courts and Tribunals Service鈥�.

You may also have to pay another fee later on, if there is a trial to decide on your case.

Send the form to the court

You can file your documents electronically. This online service also enables you to search cases, order copies of documents and pay fees.

Or send the form to:

Email: [email protected]
Fax: 0870 761 7725
DX 160040 Strand 4

Serve the form on the defendant

Send or deliver a copy of the form to the person who will be defending the claim, along with:

• an acknowledgment of service form
• notes for the defendant

Give the court a certificate of service to confirm you鈥檝e done this.

Arrest a ship

If you don鈥檛 think the owner can pay, you can ask the court to arrest the ship.

You will need to send the following forms:

• an application and undertaking for arrest and custody form
• a declaration form
• an in rem claim form
• 2 warrant of arrest forms

You will have to pay court fees and agree to cover the cost of detaining the ship, which may include berthing or mooring fees. You may be able to get this money back if the ship is sold at the end of the trial.

After you make your claim

The defendant has to respond to your claim within 14 days of receiving it.

If they don鈥檛 respond, you can ask the court to decide on the case.

Include a statement of case if it鈥檚 about a collision dispute.

If they respond, you will have to send them more details about your case, known as the 鈥榩articulars of claim鈥�.

Getting ready for the trial

You will usually have to go to a case management conference to agree what steps you need to take before the trial.

These could include producing documents or arranging for witnesses to give evidence.

A judge or registrar will:

• identify the issues in the case
• work out how long the trial will last
• set a date for the trial

There may also be a 鈥榩re-trial review鈥� meeting in the 2 months before the trial, to check you鈥檙e ready.

You may have to wait several months for a trial - or longer if the trial is likely to last more than a few days. Check the for details.

The trial

The trial will be in front of the judge or the registrar.

During the trial, you or your lawyer will have the chance to:

• make opening and closing statements
• call expert witnesses
• present expert reports
• question the witnesses

The courtroom will usually be open to the public.

The decision

In most cases you won鈥檛 find out the decision on the day of the hearing.

The court will usually send you a copy of the draft judgment, to check for typos or other textual errors.

The judge or registrar will then formally hand down the judgment.

If you disagree with the decision

You can ask the court for permission to appeal.

Include your reasons for appealing.

Find out more about appealing to

Decisions on previous cases

The court鈥檚 decisions on earlier cases are published on the

Legislation and rules

You can find detailed rules on using the court in and of the Civil Procedure Rules.