15 countries, including China, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Switzerland, signed the UN Convention on the International Effects of Judicial Sales of Ships.
It aims to promote legal certainty and predictability at the international level by creating a uniform regime for the international effects of ‘judicial’ sales of ships.
The Beijing Convention on the Judicial Sale of Ships, as it is now known, was developed by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL).
It addresses the problem of bona fide new owners and those financing the purchase of vessels.
For instance, it is dealing with previous creditors laying claim to the ship as security for a loan.
The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) acting as the repository for these notices and certificates of judicial sale.