Original scientific paper
Registration of ships and mortgages in the Yugoslav register of ships
Petar Kragić
; Jugotanker, Zadar
Abstract
The author considers the theoretical and practical aspects of the registration of ships in the Yugoslav register. The Yugoslav Maritime and Inland Navigation Act (1977) provides for compulsory or optional registration of ships. Amendment to the Act, passed in 1985) allows registration of '' .. a ship wholly or partly owned by foreign physical or legal persons, provided SFRY exercises control in administrative, economic and technical matters, and if such registration is allowed by the federal authority in charge of transport and communications.''
This rule, much criticized by theoreticians, practically engaged in shipping very well, and many vessels owned by foreign shipowners (mostly by off-shore companies belonging to Yugoslav based shipowners) have registered their vessels under the Yugoslav flag.
Analyzing a recent administrative customs case the writer argues that foreign-owned vessels registered in the Yugoslav register are allowed to engage in coastal trade like any other Yugoslav flagged vessel without being subject to impost custom dues for importing the vessel. This is important for using ferries, fishing boats and other vessels (owned by foreign companies but registered in Yugoslavia) in Yugoslav coastal trade/waters.
The second part of the article is devoted to various questions of registration and execution of the Yugoslav hypotheca. The author inter alia suggests:
- that instead of registering the schedule of payment secured by the mortgage it would suffice to register a method (formula) by which the installments could be calculated. It is important for securing by mortgage claims in various joint ventures and profit sharing agreements where the payments depend on earnings of the vessel and can not be defined up front ;
- that the ship repairer's lien does not under Yugoslav law have priority over the claim secured by the mortgage ;
- that by choosing a particular register to register his mortgage the mortgagee can not be sure about priority in satisfying his claim because ranking of the claims (liens/mortgage) is governed by the lex fori of the country where the vessel is arrested ;
that the mortgagee's remedy of taking possession of the vessel in order to trade her under by him appointed managers strangthens the mortgagee's position because he can after taking possession over her inter alia bring her to the jurisdiction which if favorable for the mortgagee in terms of selling the vessel by public sale.
Keywords
ship registration; ship's mortgage; Yugoslav law;
Hrčak ID:
213598
URI
Publication date:
27.12.1990.
Visits: 1.164 *