S.L. 234.42 Art. 101Powers of the court.

(1) On the hearing of the winding up application, the court may either dismiss the application or make an order acceding thereto (hereinafter referred to as a "winding up order") and such other orders, including provisional orders, and adjourn the hearing conditionally or otherwise as it thinks fit; but no winding up order shall be made before the application has been served on such persons as the court in the circumstances, and upon information given by the applicant, deems it appropriate to call upon to make their submissions.

(2) Where the sole asset of the company is a ship subject to a registered mortgage or other maritime claims and the outstanding sums due under the mortgage or such maritime claims exceed the value of the ship, the court shall not order the winding up of the company until it is satisfied that there are excess funds deriving to the company in Malta in relation to which a winding up order may usefully be made.

(3) In the event contemplated in the preceding subregulation, the court shall await the outcome of any enforcement proceedings by the mortgagee or maritime claimants, whether in Malta or overseas and whether private or public, by the mortgagee in terms of article 42 of the Act, or by any maritime claimant enjoying a right of preference in terms of article 37C of the Act, after which it shall determine the issue.

(4) Should it result to the court that there are no excess proceeds of sale or that there have been ranking of creditor proceedings over the proceeds of sale of the ship, the result of which is final and binding on all creditors, and there is no business of the company which needs to be wound up, it shall not order the winding up of the company but shall instead declare the company dissolved and wound up. The court shall order that upon the filing with the Registrar of authenticated evidence of the sale of the ship or the closure of ranking of creditors, which evidence shall be filed at the registry for public notice, the company shall immediately and without further procedures, be struck off the register. In such event any residual rights of the company shall be vested in the shareholders of the company by operation of law or be dealt with as may be determined by the court at its discretion.

(5) Should it result that there are any funds in Malta deriving to the company from proceedings contemplated in the preceding paragraph, the court may order the winding up of the company in accordance with these regulations.

(6) If the winding up application is presented by members of the company on the basis that there are grounds of sufficient gravity to warrant the dissolution and winding up of the company, the court, if it is of the opinion that such grounds exist but that the applicants are entitled to some other remedy, including the liquidation of only their shares, apart from the dissolution and winding up of the company, shall only make a winding up order so long as the applicants are not acting unreasonably in seeking to have the company dissolved and wound up instead of pursuing that other remedy. On the demand of any interested party, the court shall have all the necessary powers to provide such remedy, as it considers reasonable in the circumstances to ensure that the company is in a position to carry on its business.