Morecorp Holdings Ltd. v. Island Tug & Barge Ltd.

This was an application to set aside the arrest of the “ITB Pioneer”. The case concerned various allegations of breaches of a share purchase agreement between the parties. The plaintiff alleged, inter alia, that it was a term of the share purchase agreement that the parties would enter into a further agreement whereby the plaintiff’s tugs would be used to deliver cargo to smaller communities on the British Columbia coast. This further agreement was never concluded and the defendants used their own tug, the “ITB Pioneer”, to supply these communities. The Court held that none of the plaintiff’s claims related to any aspect of maritime law in which the “ITB Pioneer” can be said to have been involved. The Court noted that there may have been a maritime claim against the cargo under s.22(1)(i) of the Federal Courts Act but did not decide on that issue. The Court set aside the arrest warrant and dismissed the in rem claims.