Merchant Shipping Act (Cap. 234)
Merchant Shipping Act (Cap. 234), article 38
38. ( 1 ) A r e g i s t e r e d s h i p o r a s h a r e t h e r e i n m a y b e m a d e a
security for any debt or other obligation by means of an instru ment
creating the security (in this Ac t called a "mortgage") execute d by
the mortgagor in favour of the mortgagee in the presence of, an d
attested by, a witness or witnesses.
(2) A mortgage is indivisible notwithstanding the divisibility o f
the underlying debt or other obl igation which it may secure.
(3) A mortgage shall attach to any proceeds from any
indemnity arising from collisions and other mishaps as well as any
insurance proceeds.
Cap. 16.
(4) It shall be lawful for a mortgage to be executed and
registered in favour of a securi ty trustee appointed or acting under a
trust for the benefit of persons to whom a debt or other obliga tion is
due. Such security trustee shall, in any such case, be recognis ed as
the mortgagee of the particular mortgage and shall be entitled to
exercise all the rights in rela tion to that mortgage as are acc orded to
mortgagees by this Act or any other enactment. Any such securit y
trust shall be governed by the provisions of article 2095E of t he
Civil Code when the applicable law is the law of Malta.
(5) A mortgage registered in acco rdance with this Act may be
drawn up to secure the payment of a principal sum and interest, a
current account, as well as the pe rformance of any other obliga tion,
including a future obligation due by the debtor to the creditor :
Provided that a mortgage dra wn up in accord ance with this
Act shall be valid at law even if it does not indicate the mone tary
value of the indebtedness in the mortgage:
Provided further that in order for future obligations to be
secured by the mortgage, each of the following conditions shall be
met:
(i) a maximum sum by way of principal for which the
mortgage is granted shall be expressly stated in the
registered instrument;
M E R C H A N T S H I P P I N G [CAP. 234. 29
(ii) such maximum sum shall be recorded in the register by
the registrar; and
(iii) the mortgage shall be reg istered in favour of a credit
institution in an approved jurisdiction or such other
organisation as may be permitted by means of a notice
issued by the Minister.
(6) The Minister may make regulations to further regulate the
operation of security granted t o secure future obligations.
Cap. 13.
(7) For the purposes of this Act , the term ''account current''
means any indebtedness of a mortgagor in favour of a mortgagee
arising and determinable in accordance with an underlying
obligation and all the provisions of the Commercial Code relative
to the contract of account current including the provisions of article
264 thereof shall not apply thereto unless expressly agreed to by
the parties.
Registration of
mortgages.
Amended by:
XXXVII. 1988.4;
21;
XXXVII. 1990.11;
XXII. 2000. 28;
I.2025.20.
Text read from the consolidated PDF published by Legislation Malta. Tables, figures and marginal notes may be incomplete or out of place: the official PDF is authoritative. General information, not legal, tax or accounting advice.