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Admiralty Arrest and the U.S. Marshal's Sale of a Vessel

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Admiralty Arrest and the U.S. Marshal’s Sale of a Vessel

Asset page (vessels — court channel). Legal information, not legal advice. Last verified: 2026-10-16.

What it is

An admiralty arrest is the seizure of a vessel by the U.S. Marshal under a warrant issued in a federal civil action in rem — a suit in which the vessel itself is the named defendant. The arrest secures a maritime lien or preferred ship mortgage; if the claim is not bonded or settled, the court orders the vessel sold, either interlocutorily (before judgment, to stop deterioration or runaway custody costs) or after final judgment. The sale is conducted by the Marshal, the proceeds go into the court registry, and the court then ranks and pays the claims. A sale “by order of a district court in a civil action in rem brought to enforce a preferred mortgage lien or a maritime lien” delivers the vessel “free of all those claims” (46 U.S.C. § 31326(a), https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/46/31326 , retrieved 2026-10-16). It is the only forced-sale channel for vessels that extinguishes maritime liens by statute. Compare the non-court channels in vessels.

Jurisdiction: why this happens in federal court

  • Statute. “The district courts shall have original jurisdiction, exclusive of the courts of the States, of: (1) Any civil case of admiralty or maritime jurisdiction, saving to suitors in all cases all other remedies to which they are otherwise entitled.” — 28 U.S.C. § 1333 (https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/28/1333 , retrieved 2026-10-16).
  • Preferred mortgages. The district courts’ jurisdiction over an in rem action to enforce a preferred mortgage on a documented, to-be-documented, state-titled or foreign vessel “is exclusive of the courts of the States” — 46 U.S.C. § 31325(c) (https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/46/31325 , retrieved 2026-10-16).
  • State courts: in personam only. State courts remain “competent” to hear maritime claims “in proceedings ‘in personam,’ that is, where the defendant is a person, not a ship.” A state partition sale between co-owners was valid because the state court “acts only upon the interests of the parties over whom it has jurisdiction in personam, and it does not affect the interests of others in the world at large, as it would if this were a proceeding in rem to enforce a lien.” — madruga-v-superior-court-1954, 346 U.S. 556 (1954).
  • Consequence for state execution sales. A state-court sale of a boat as perishable property under a state statute does not extinguish a prior maritime lien for supplies (so held; the quoted phrase “does not extinguish a maritime lien for supplies advanced prior to the proceedings and sale” is the reporter’s headnote); the liens “will adhere to the vessel in the hands of the purchaser” — the-adeline-1918, 252 F. 953 (N.D. Fla. 1918) (quoting Taney, C.J., dissenting in Taylor v. Carryl, and noting the view was followed in The Lottawanna).

The procedural framework — Supplemental Rules C, D and E

All quotations below are from the Supplemental Rules for Admiralty or Maritime Claims and Asset Forfeiture Actions as published by Cornell LII (Rule C: https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/rule_c ; Rule D: https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/rule_d ; Rule E: https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/rule_e ; all retrieved 2026-10-16).

1. When an in rem action is available (Rule C(1))

“An action in rem may be brought: (a) To enforce any maritime lien; (b) Whenever a statute of the United States provides for a maritime action in rem or a proceeding analogous thereto.” Rule D separately provides arrest process in “actions for possession, partition, and to try title” of a vessel.

2. Complaint and arrest warrant (Rule C(2)–(3))

The complaint “must … be verified,” describe the property “with reasonable particularity,” and state that the property is or will be within the district. The court “must review the complaint and any supporting papers,” and if the conditions appear to exist, order the clerk to issue a warrant; on a certification of exigent circumstances the clerk issues the warrant without prior review, and “[t]he plaintiff has the burden in any post-arrest hearing under Rule E(4)(f) to show that exigent circumstances existed.” For a vessel, “the warrant and any supplemental process must be delivered to the marshal for service.” Process in rem “may be served only within the district” (Rule E(3)(a)).

E.D. La. adds that “no warrant for the arrest of a vessel may issue, unless the court determines that the conditions for an action in rem appear to exist” (LAR 4.1(B)).

3. Custody (Rule E(4)(b), (e))

The Marshal “shall take [tangible property] into the marshal’s possession for safe custody,” and may ask the collector of customs “not to grant clearance to such vessel” until released. Rule E(4)(e) preserves 28 U.S.C. § 1921 on “the expenses of seizing and keeping property … and … the requirement of deposits to cover such expenses.”

  • Under § 1921(a)(1)(E) the Marshal collects for “[t]he keeping of attached property (including boats, vessels, or other property attached or libeled), actual expenses incurred, such as storage, moving, boat hire, or other special transportation, watchmen’s or keepers’ fees, insurance,” and deputy hourly rates; under § 1921(a)(2) the Marshal “shall collect, in advance, a deposit to cover the initial expenses … and periodically thereafter such amounts as may be necessary … until the litigation is concluded” (https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/28/1921 , retrieved 2026-10-16).
  • Local rules commonly let a substitute custodian or keeper hold the vessel. E.D. La. authorizes the Marshal, with the written consent of all parties and a hold-harmless, to “appoint the master of the vessel or another competent person as keeper or custodian” (LAR 64.4), and to move vessels under seizure within the district “as he, acting as a prudent administrator, finds to be necessary” (LAR 64.3).

4. Notice and claims (Rule C(4), C(6); 46 U.S.C. § 31325(d))

If the property is not released within 14 days after execution, “the plaintiff must promptly … give public notice of the action and arrest in a newspaper designated by court order.” A person asserting an ownership or possessory interest “must file a verified statement of right or interest … within 14 days after the execution of process” (or as the court allows) and “serve an answer within 21 days after filing.” E.D. La. extends the claim period to “21 days from the date of the publication” where publication is required (LAR 64.1).

In a preferred-mortgage foreclosure or maritime-lien action, actual notice “must be given in the manner directed by the court” to the master, to anyone who recorded an unexpired notice of claim of lien with the Coast Guard, and to each undischarged recorded mortgagee (46 U.S.C. § 31325(d)(1)). Failure to give that notice “does not affect the jurisdiction of the court,” but the party required to give it “is liable to the person not notified for damages in the amount of that person’s interest in the vessel terminated by the action” (§ 31325(d)(3)). Rule C(4) states it “does not affect the notice requirements in an action to foreclose a preferred ship mortgage.” Constitutional notice principles are on due-process-notice (mullane-v-central-hanover, mennonite-v-adams).

5. Release before sale (Rule E(4)(f), E(5))

Any person claiming an interest “shall be entitled to a prompt hearing at which the plaintiff shall be required to show why the arrest … should not be vacated” (E(4)(f)). The vessel is released on approved security; absent agreement, the court fixes the bond at the claim “with accrued interest and costs,” but “in no event exceed[ing] (i) twice the amount of the plaintiff’s claim or (ii) the value of the property on due appraisement, whichever is smaller” (E(5)(a)). No release occurs until “the costs and charges of the officers of the court shall first have been paid” (E(5)(c)).

6. Interlocutory sale (Rule E(9)(a))

On application of a party, the Marshal, or the custodian, “the court may order all or part of the property sold—with the sales proceeds … paid into court to await further orders” if: “(A) the attached or arrested property is perishable, or liable to deterioration, decay, or injury by being detained in custody pending the action; (B) the expense of keeping the property is excessive or disproportionate; or (C) there is an unreasonable delay in securing release of the property.” A defendant or claimant may instead obtain delivery “upon giving security” (E(9)(a)(ii)).

7. Who sells, and where the money goes (Rule E(9)(b); 28 U.S.C. §§ 2001, 2004)

“All sales of property shall be made by the marshal or a deputy marshal, or by other person or organization having the warrant, or by any other person assigned by the court where the marshal … is a party in interest; and the proceeds of sale shall be forthwith paid into the registry of the court.” Personalty sold under a federal court order “shall be sold in accordance with section 2001 … unless the court orders otherwise” (28 U.S.C. § 2004, https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/28/2004 , retrieved 2026-10-16). Section 2001(b) private-sale safeguards — three disinterested appraisers, no confirmation below “two-thirds of the appraised value,” publication at least ten days before confirmation, and no confirmation if a bona fide offer guarantees “at least a 10 per centum increase” — therefore apply to a court-ordered private sale of a vessel unless the order of sale provides otherwise (https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/28/2001 , retrieved 2026-10-16).

The Marshal’s sale: local rules (two districts retrieved)

Each district fills in the auction mechanics by local admiralty rule; the order of sale can override them.

ItemE.D. La. (LAR 64.5–64.6)S.D. Tex. (Supp. Admiralty Rule E)
PublicationNotices of sale “published on three different days, the first … at least 14 days and the last at least three days before the day of the sale”; default paper the Times-Picayune New Orleans AdvocatePublished “in a daily newspaper of general circulation in the division of the seizure on at least four days, between three and thirty-one days before the sale date”
Deposit at fall of hammerGreater of USD 500 or 10 percent of the bid, cash or certified/cashier’s check on a local bank; bids of USD 500 or less paid in fullBids under USD 1,000 paid on acceptance; for bids of USD 1,000 or more, “the higher of ten percent of the bid or” USD 1,000 “deposited immediately”
Balance”on or before confirmation of the sale by the court and within 14 days of the adjudication or dismissal of any opposition""paid in full within 7 days of the sale”; if an objection is filed, buyer “may defer payment of the balance until the sale is confirmed”
Objection windowIf “within three business days no written objection is filed, the sale is confirmed,” provided the buyer has performedObjections “written and filed with the marshal within 7 days of the sale date”
Objector’s cost depositOpponent “must deposit with the marshal, in advance, costs of keeping the property pending the court’s determination”; if not, the opposition “fails without affirmative action by the court""cost deposit of seven days of estimated expenses of custody”
Keeping costs pending confirmationPaid from proceeds if no opposition; borne by the purchaser after the three-day period if the purchaser delays payment; borne by a failed opponentOverruled objector gets back the deposit less custody costs from objection to confirmation
Default / backup bidderMarshal records the second-highest bidder; court may confirm to that bidder with approval of the sale proponent(s) and the second bidderDeposit “forfeited to the action, applied to costs, then paid to the registry”; court “may accept the second bid or order a new sale”

Sources: E.D. La. Local Civil Rules (eff. March 1, 2022, amended Feb. 4, 2025), LAR 64.1–64.7 (https://www.laed.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/local_rules/2022%20CIVIL%20RULES%20LAED%20w%20Amendment%202%204%2025.pdf , retrieved 2026-10-16); S.D. Tex. Local Rules, Supplemental Admiralty Rules A and E (reprinted September 2025; Rule E amended by General Order 2009-17, eff. Dec. 1, 2009) (https://www.txs.uscourts.gov/sites/txs/files/LR%20September%202025%20Reprint.pdf , retrieved 2026-10-16).

S.D. Fla. The court’s admiralty sample form “Request for Confirmation of Sale” recites that “[p]ursuant to Local Admiralty Rule E(17)(g)(i), the last day for filing objections” has passed and asks the clerk, “pursuant to Local Admiralty Rule E(17)(f),” to “enter a Confirmation of Sale and to transmit the confirmation to the Marshal” (https://www.flsd.uscourts.gov/sites/flsd/files/forms/Request%20for%20Confirmation%20of%20Sale.pdf , retrieved 2026-10-16). The text of Rule E(17) itself was not retrieved (needs_verification).

Credit bids

A foreclosing mortgagee may be authorized to bid its debt. In ge-credit-v-drill-ship-mission-exploration-1982, the seizing mortgagee bought at the judicial sale “for approximately the unpaid amount due on its mortgage, it being authorized by the court to bid up to the amount due on its mortgage without making any payment, provided that it would guarantee the payment of any liens or claims superior in rank to its preferred mortgage” (668 F.2d 811 (5th Cir. 1982), https://static.case.law/f2d/668/cases/0811-01.json , retrieved 2026-10-16). Whether and on what terms a credit bid is allowed is set by the order of sale in each case.

Confirmation and objections

Title does not pass on the fall of the hammer; the local rules above make the sale final only on confirmation (automatic if no timely objection, or by order). The substantive standard a court applies to an objection (e.g., gross inadequacy of price, fraud, irregularity) was not retrieved from a primary source this session (needs_verification). See the general doctrine on judicial-sale-confirmation.

Effect of the sale and distribution of proceeds

  • Free and clear. “[A]ny claim in the vessel existing on the date of sale is terminated, including a possessory common law lien of which a person is deprived under section 31325(e)(2) …, and the vessel is sold free of all those claims” (46 U.S.C. § 31326(a)). The Marshal may take possession “even if the vessel is in the possession or under the control of a person claiming a possessory common law lien” (§ 31325(e)(2)).
  • Claims move to the fund. Each terminated claim “attaches, in the same amount and in accordance with their priorities to the proceeds of the sale” (§ 31326(b)).
  • Priority. The preferred mortgage lien “has priority over all claims against the vessel (except for expenses and fees allowed by the court, costs imposed by the court, and preferred maritime liens)”; for a foreign vessel whose mortgage is not guaranteed under chapter 537, the mortgage “is subordinate to a maritime lien for necessaries provided in the United States” (§ 31326(b)(1)–(2)). Details: maritime-liens-and-preferred-ship-mortgages.
  • Custodia legis expenses first. Expenses of maintaining and preserving the vessel while in the court’s custody are paid ahead of the preferred mortgage, and “even in the absence of court order these ‘custodia legis expenses’ may be ordered by the court to be paid in priority to the seizing mortgage creditor if ‘equity and good conscience’ so require” — ge-credit-v-drill-ship-mission-exploration-1982.
  • Marshal’s commission. “3 percent of the first” USD 1,000 “collected and 1.5 percent on the excess,” “not … less than” USD 100 and not more than USD 50,000; it “shall apply to all judicially ordered sales” (28 CFR 0.114(h), https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-28/section-0.114 , retrieved 2026-10-16; 28 U.S.C. § 1921(c)). Notices of sale and bills of sale are USD 20 per item (28 CFR 0.114(a)(5)); keeping and advertising are at “actual expenses” (0.114(a)(6)).
  • Surplus. After ranked claims are paid from the registry, any remainder belongs to the owner, distributed by court order. The procedure and timing of surplus disbursement were not retrieved from a primary rule (needs_verification). Compare surplus-funds.

▸ For Buyers / Operators — Underwriting turns on: the deposit and balance deadlines in the district’s local rule; who bears custody costs between sale and confirmation; the confirmation trigger; the free-and-clear effect of § 31326(a); and the post-sale USCG filing (certified order of sale and confirmation, 46 CFR 67.263(b); see uscg-national-vessel-documentation-center). Documentation citizenship limits may restrict who can buy a documented vessel (46 CFR 221.17).

▸ For Owners / Debtors — Before sale: the prompt post-arrest hearing (Rule E(4)(f)), release on special bond capped at the lesser of twice the claim or appraised value (E(5)(a)), and delivery on security in lieu of interlocutory sale (E(9)(a)(ii)). After sale: claims attach to the registry fund (§ 31326(b)); any balance after ranked claims is paid by court order.

Buyer-specific points

  1. Citizenship and documentation. “A Documented Vessel may be sold by order of a district court only to a Person eligible to own a Documented Vessel or to a mortgagee of the vessel,” and unless waived by the Maritime Administrator the buyer “must document the vessel under chapter 121” (46 CFR 221.17(a), https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-46/section-221.17 , retrieved 2026-10-16). Transfers of a documented citizen-owned vessel to a non-citizen generally require Maritime Administration approval, but “[p]aragraph (1)(A) does not apply to a vessel that has been operated only for pleasure or only as a fishing vessel” (46 U.S.C. § 56101(a)(2), https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/46/56101 , retrieved 2026-10-16). How § 221.17 interacts with the pleasure/fishing exemption in 46 CFR 221.11(b) was not resolved from a primary source (needs_verification).
  2. Recording the title. The Coast Guard removes recorded encumbrances on filing “[a] copy of the order from a Federal District Court in an in rem action certified by an official of the court requiring the free and clear sale of the vessel at a Marshal’s sale and, where issued under local judicial procedures, a copy of the order confirming such sale” (46 CFR 67.263(b)); passage of title by court action is established “by copies of the relevant court order(s) certified by an official of the court” (67.77(a)).
  3. The certificate of documentation becomes invalid on change of ownership (46 CFR 67.167(b)(1)); the buyer applies for exchange. See uscg-national-vessel-documentation-center.
  4. As-is. The Marshal’s sale is a judicial sale of the vessel in custody; warranty terms are set by the order of sale. Survey access during custody depends on the Marshal/custodian and court order (needs_verification for any general rule).

Other court sales of vessels

  • Rule B attachment. A vessel attached quasi in rem under Rule B to secure an in personam claim can be sold under the same Rule E(9) machinery, but the statutory free-and-clear rule of § 31326(a) applies to in rem actions “to enforce a preferred mortgage lien or a maritime lien.” Whether a Rule B sale extinguishes unrelated maritime liens was not resolved from a primary source (needs_verification).
  • State execution / partition. Valid as in personam proceedings (madruga-v-superior-court-1954) but subject to surviving maritime liens (the-adeline-1918).
  • Bankruptcy. bankruptcy-363-sales; in-re-millenium-seacarriers-2005; barnes-v-sea-hawaii-rafting-2018.

Needs verification

  • S.D. Fla. Local Admiralty Rule E(17) text (deposits, objection period, confirmation).
  • Substantive standard for setting aside a Marshal’s sale on objection (inadequacy of price, irregularity) — controlling circuit cases not retrieved.
  • Surplus disbursement procedure from the registry (28 U.S.C. § 2041–2042 not retrieved).
  • Effect of a Rule B quasi in rem sale on maritime liens not sued upon.
  • Interaction of 46 CFR 221.17 with the pleasure/fishing exemption of 46 CFR 221.11(b).

vessels, maritime-liens-and-preferred-ship-mortgages, marina-and-storage-lien-sales-of-vessels, buying-a-vessel-at-a-forced-sale, uscg-national-vessel-documentation-center, judicial-sale-confirmation, sheriff-sale, surplus-funds, due-process-notice, bankruptcy-363-sales, madruga-v-superior-court-1954, the-adeline-1918, ge-credit-v-drill-ship-mission-exploration-1982, barnes-v-sea-hawaii-rafting-2018, louisiana, texas, florida

Sources

▸ For Buyers / Operators — See the local-rule table and “Buyer-specific points”; checklist in buying-a-vessel-at-a-forced-sale.

▸ For Owners / Debtors — See Rule E(4)(f), E(5) and E(9)(a)(ii) above; claim against the registry fund under § 31326(b).

This page provides general legal information, not legal advice. Admiralty procedure varies by district and is frequently modified by the individual order of sale. Verify every rule, deadline and deposit against the current local admiralty rules and the order entered in the case, and consult a licensed maritime attorney before acting. Last verified: 2026-10-16.

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