Arrested at Sea, Adrift in Law: Vessel Arrest as Security for Arbitration under India’s Admiralty Act 2017

The Admiralty (Jurisdiction and Settlement of Maritime Claims) Act 2017 was a significant milestone in the Indian maritime legal system, replacing the obsolete clutter of colonial statutes with a framework that integrates vessel arrest and admiralty jurisdiction. Although modernised, it has yet to resolve the matter of vessel arrest as security where a maritime claim dispute is pending for foreign-seated arbitration. While the Act has drawn inspiration from the International Convention on Arrest of Ships, 1999, it failed to incorporate Article 2(3) of the convention, an essential provision in this regard, leaving three evident lacunae in India’s maritime arbitration architecture. This article analyses the Act and highlights gaps at the intersection of admiralty law, international commercial law, and arbitration, arising from the absence of a statutory provision authorising courts to order the arrest of a vessel to obtain security. At the same time, a dispute is referred to arbitration outside India. Through discussion on the Altus Uber ruling, comparative structures of the UK and Singapore, and the issues addressed and recommendations in the Law Commission’s 1994 report on admiralty jurisdiction, this article proposes strong statutory amendments reforming the admiralty structure to fulfil India’s maritime goals.