Ninth Circuit Falls in Line with Other Circuits: Bunker Supplier Has No Maritime Lien
Bunker Holdings Ltd. v. Yang Ming Liberia Corp., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 28668, 2018 WL 4924364 (9th Cir., Oct. 11, 2018)
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued its opinion in the above matter on October 11, 2018 which follows in the string of decisions from the Second, Fifth and Eleventh Circuits denying the supplier of bunkers a maritime lien on the basis that the bunkers was not “’ “on the order of ... a person authorized by the owner.’” 46 U.S.C. § 31342(a). In doing so, the panel distinguished an earlier decision with similar facts, Marine Fuel Supply & Towing, Inc. v. M/V Ken Lucky, 869 F.2d 473 (9th Cir. 1988), stating that the defendant admitted the order for bunkers originated with the sub-charterer of the vessel.
A more detailed synopsis of this decision will follow.
