Disputes over unpaid supplier bills, casualties, charter hire and mortgage enforcements would lead to a handful of vessel arrests in Singapore each week in the not so distant past.

Today, the number of arrests has dropped to just one or two each month, with most being made by banks foreclosing on vessels.

But partners at Reed Smith Resource Law Alliance — a tie-up between Reed Smith and Singapore law practice Resource Law — say this does not reflect a decline in Singapore’s attractiveness as a place to arrest a ship.