Will the real owner please stand up?

In Echo Star ex Gas Infinity [2020] SGHC 200, the action in rem was brought pursuant to the plaintiff's maritime lien for damage done by another ship following a collision in the Strait of Hormuz. A maritime lien survives a change in ownership of the vessel. An action in rem is an action against a ship itself. In April 2019, the Echo Star (then known as Gas Infinity) collided with another ship - Royal Arsenal - in the Strait of Hormuz. At the time of the collision, the vessel was owned by Sea Dolphin Co., Ltd. In July 2019, Sea Dolphin sold the vessel...