B. Sasi Mahendran, J

The 2^nd Defendant-Appellant, the Owner of the 1^st Defendant Vessel, “M.V. Evangeli” (hereinafter referred to as “the Owner”) invoked the appellate jurisdiction of this Court in terms of the Admiralty Jurisdiction Act No. 40 of 1983 read with Section 13 of the Judicature Act No. 2 of 1978, as amended, to impugn the judgment of the High Court of Admiralty, which entered judgment in favour of the Plaintiff-Respondent in action in rem 8/2013 dated 02^nd November 2017.

The sequence of events is important in this matter.

It is undisputed that the 1^st Defendant-Vessel, “M.V. Evangeli” (hereinafter referred to as “the Vessel”) is owned by the Appellant, KDB Capital Corporation Ltd., which is a company incorporated in and has its registered office in South Korea. By virtue of a Lease Agreement (No. 2007-01841) entered into between the Owner and Bumyoung Shipping Co Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “the demise charterer”) on 01^st August 2007 for a period of 63 months ending on 01^st November 2012 (amended by Agreement No. 2007-01841-000 dated 02^nd August 2007) the said Vessel was leased under a finance lease to Bumyoung Shipping Co Ltd. The Lease Agreement was subsequently re