What Is A Ship Mortgage? Some Thoughts onPast and Current Trends

by Emery W. Harper, Harper Consultants, Inc.

Most ship mortgages under U.S. and Liberian law tend to be lengthy documents with multiple exhibits, a daunting encounter for the layman or new mortgagee. The documents themselves do not offer education to the newcomer. Moreover, there is no definition of “mortgage” in the Ship Mortgage Act. There is no definition of mortgage in the Uniform Commercial Code (“UCC”). There is no definition of the term in any of the three versions of the International Convention on Maritime Liens and Mortgages. There are no longer any state chattel mortgage laws to which to refer.

The purpose of this brief article is to try to identify those elements of the U.S. preferred ship mortgage which are essential to its purposes and to provide a guide for the layman in spotting these elements when they are hidden under a wealth of verbiage. Where can we turn for guidance?

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