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The United Nations Convention on the International Effects of Judicial Sales of Ships

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and BIMCO welcome the entry into force of the United Nations Convention on the International Effects of Judicial Sale of Ships, also known as the Beijing Convention on the Judicial Sale of Ships (the “Beijing Convention”), which took place on 17 February 2026.

The Beijing Convention is intended to address the transborder effects of judicial sales and aims to clarify the legal uncertainty regarding the clean title which the judicial sale is supposed to confer upon the purchaser of a ship in a judicial sale. The entry into force of the Beijing Convention marks a significant step forward for legal certainty in international maritime trade.

The ICS and BIMCO are supportive of the Beijing Convention and encourage states to sign and ratify the convention. The main reasons for this are as follows:

The Beijing Convention establishes a harmonised regime for giving international effect to judicial sales. Under the Beijing Convention, the effects of a judicial sale conducted in one State Party is recognised by all other Parties.
The purchaser is granted “clean title”, eliminating the likelihood that buyers could face arrests, liens or maritime claims in other jurisdictions and therefore ensuring that a ship is purchased clean and unencumbered. This gives comfort to purchasers of ships and their financiers encouraging higher participation in judicial sales, increasing the sale proceeds which will then be distributed among creditors.
To ensure transparency, each State where a sale occurs must issue a notice of judicial sale and, as appropriate, a certificate of judicial sale. The certificate of judicial sale ensures that the purchaser will be able to deregister a ship in its old register and reregister it in the ship register of their choice.
The Beijing Convention imposes safeguards in respect of due process for the benefit of shipowners and holders of mortgages and other encumbrances on the ship.
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) acts as the repository for notices and certificates of judicial sale under the Beijing Convention, which are open to consultation by any interested party on IMO’s Global Integrated Shipping Information System (GISIS).

In summary, the ICS and BIMCO are confident that the Beijing Convention will aid judicial ship sales in becoming internationally reliable with more legal certainty and commercial appeal, benefitting buyers, creditors, lenders and the maritime trade as a whole.

The Beijing Convention has been ratified by Barbados, El Salvador and Spain – the third ratifying state having triggered the application of article 21 of the Beijing Convention and coming into force of the Convention on 17 February 2026. Panama has since ratified in March this year. However, since the Beijing Convention is based on the principle of reciprocity i.e., between ratifying states only, ratification by as many states as possible is key to securing the success of the Beijing Convention.