Today, 17 February 2026, marks the entry into force of the United Nations Convention on the International Effects of Judicial Sales of Ships, a historic development for the global shipping industry.

With 34 signatories and 3 States having now ratified the Convention following the signing ceremonies in Beijing in 2023 and Malta in 2024, this international initiative has now reached a crucial milestone.

Originally developed from a draft prepared by the CMI – Comité Maritime International, the Convention establishes a harmonised regime for giving international effect to judicial sales, while preserving domestic law governing the procedure of judicial sales and the circumstances in which judicial sales confer clean title.

The Convention seeks to ensure that when a purchaser in a judicial sale purchases a vessel clean and unencumbered, he can use that vessel without fear of re-arrest by the vessel’s previous creditors. This Convention will give comfort to purchasers of vessels and their financiers in judicial sales encouraging higher prices.

We are particularly proud that Ann Fenech, President of the CMI and Head of our Marine Litigation department, was the CMI co-ordinator for the project at UNCITRAL.

The entry into force of the Beijing Convention represents not only the success of an international legal project but also a significant step forward for legal certainty in maritime trade.