Recent admiralty decisions in Hong Kong - are the courts ready to deviate from their English predecessors?

Admiralty laws in countries in the Asia-Pacific Region, such as Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Hong Kong are all influenced by thoughts and principles of law derived from the English Admiralty decisions. Recent cases in Hong Kong (and indeed in other countries in the Asia-Pacific Region) indicated, however, the readiness of judges to depart, where appropriate, from the English authorities. This article considered two such recent Hong Kong cases where in one case the authority of the House of Lords in "The Indian Grace (No.2)" was doubted while in the other case the Court of Appeal hinted the possibility of looking for the true owner of the ship beyond the ship registration - deviating from the English authority in "The Expo Agnic". This article encourages judges in these countries to deviate from the static and inflexible English laws, where appropriate.