Merchant Shipping Act (Cap. 234)
Merchant Shipping Act (Cap. 234), article 42
42. (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of article 256(2) of the
Code of Organisation and Civil Procedure , in the event of default of
any term or condition of a registered mortgage or of any docume nt
or agreement referred to therein , the mortgagee shall, upon giv ing
notice in writing to the mortgagor -
(a) be entitled to take possession of the ship or share
therein in respect of which he is registered; but except
so far as may be necessary for making a mortgaged
ship or share available as a security for the mortgage
debt, the mortgagee shall not by reason of the
m o r t g a g e b e d e e m e d t o b e t h e o w n e r o f t h e s h i p o r
share, nor shall the mortgagor be deemed to have
ceased to be the owner thereof:
Provided that any mortgagee may, by means of an
application, seek the assistance of the Courts in the
exercise of this right. The C ourt shall give all the orders
and directions, as may be deemed necessary, to
immediately and as expediti ously as possible grant such
assistance to the mortgagee;
(b) have power absolutely to sell the ship or share in
respect of which he is registered; but where there are
more persons than one registered as mortgagees of the
same ship or share, a subsequent mortgagee shall not,
except under the order of a court of competent
jurisdiction, sell the ship or share without the
concurrence of every prior mortgagee; and if the
proceeds of sale, after discharging the mortgage debt,
show a surplus in his hands, the mortgagee shall
deposit the same for the benefit of other creditors and
of the mortgagor;
(c) have power to apply for any extensions, pay fees,
receive certificates, and generally do all such things in
the name of the owner as may be required in order to
maintain the status and validity of the registration of
the ship.
Cap. 12.
(2) A registered mortgage shall be deemed to be an executive
title for the purposes of article 253 of the Code of Organization and
Civil Procedure :
32 CAP. 234.] MERCHANT SHIPPING
(a) where the obligation it secures is a debt certain
liquidated and due and not consisting in the
performance of an act; or
(b) where a maximum sum secured thereby is expressly
stated in the instrument creating the security and such
figure is recorded in the register for public notice.
(3) The provisions of this article shall apply to all registered
mortgages which secure debts resulting from any account current or
overdraft or other credit facility.
(4) In connection with the enforcement of any mortgage, not
being a mortgage contemplated in sub-article (2), for the purpo se of
determining the amount certain liquidated and due or the actual
sum due when the mortgage secures a future debt within an
expressly stated maximum, in connection with any judicial sale of a
ship, the mortgagee shall specify the sum due at the time of
enforcement by means of an affidavit served on the mortgagor:
Provided that this shall be without prejudice to the right of
any interested party to contes t such amount according to law.
(5) For the purpose of the proceed ings referred to in this artic le
the debtor shall be deemed to be duly served if the application or
other act is served on the master of the vessel, or if he is ab sent
from these Islands, on the local agent appointed for the vessel by
the owners or their ag ent, or in the absen ce of such local agen t on a
curator appointed by the court to represent the d ebtor and the ship.
Mortgage not
affected by
bankruptcy.
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.