Maritime creditors (typically mortgagee banks) frequently petition admiralty courts to bypass the normal judicial vessel sale process by approving a pre-arranged private direct sale to a preferred purchaser. This article examines the reasons for a cautious or even hostile judicial response to such arrangements, and analyses the exceptional circumstances in which courts may sanction private direct arrangements as judicial sales. The issue of recognition of the legal effects of foreign judicial sales is also discussed, with reference to both the relevant common law principles and the CMI draft Convention on Foreign Judicial Sales of Ships and their Recognition.