In Brief
Two vessel-hire operators sought to recover unpaid charter hire from Reflect Geophysical (a charterer in financial distress) by arresting the Geowave Commander, a specialized survey ship under bareboat charter by Reflect Geophysical but owned by a Norwegian company. The Supreme Court held that a maritime claim arising from hire of vessels A cannot be enforced by arresting vessel B merely because the same demise charterer operates both. De facto ownership by a charterer does not constitute beneficial ownership sufficient for admiralty jurisdiction. A claim may only be asserted against the owner or demise charterer of the specific vessel involved in the claim, and identity must exist between the liable party in personam and the arrested vessel's owner. Appeals dismissed; deposited security returned to the respondent vessel's owners.
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