News 15 Jul, 2015 OW Bunkers Update - July 2015 Eight months on from OW Bunker A/S’ insolvency on Friday 7 November 2014 (see the Club's  OW Bunkers News Article ), the claims, arrests and legal proceedings that have arisen following OW Bunkers’ financial collapse show no sign of abating, and our Members continue to face competing demands from physical suppliers and from OW Bunkers/ING. The conflicting claims around the world by physical suppliers and by OW Bunker/ING have highlighted the fact that, notwithstanding international Conventions such as the 1952 Arrest Convention, different jurisdictions have markedly different approaches regarding whether a claimant has title to sue and/or can arrest for his claim and the legal steps that a ship operator can take to defend himself or reduce his liability. Taking detailed legal advice is crucial. Whilst each case differs according to the size of the claim, the terms of the bunker supply contract in question and the jurisdiction and circumstances of the supply (for example, who ordered the bunkers – owners or time charterers? Did the master/chief engineer sign the bunker delivery note?), some themes that have emerged from the OW Bunker insolvency are as follows: Initially, it was the physical bunker suppliers who were taking the most proactive stance in arresting ships. Since April/May 2015, ING/OW Bunker has been taking a more proactive stance, following the “Co-operation Agreement” on 25 November 2014 between i) the trustees of the estate of OW Bunker & Trading A/S and OW Supply & Trading, Denmark (namely, John Sommer Schmidt at Gorrissen Federspiel and Pernille Bigaard at Plesner), ii) receivers of OW Bunker Far East (Singapore) Pte Ltd and Dynamic Oil Trading (Singapore) Pte Ltd (namely PwC in Singapore) and iii) ING who alleges that it has been assigned the assets of many OW Bunker entities. In this more proactive stance by ING/PwC/OWB, the demand is usually not only for the principal claim but also comp