SHIP MORTGAGES, MARITIME LIENS,

AND THEIR ENFORCEMENT: THE

BRUSSELS CONVENTIONS OF 1926
AND 1952
JOHN M. K1uz*

PART ONEt
INTRODUCTION
T HE PURPOSE of this article is to examine the provisions and
operation of two international conventions which have hereto-
fore not received the attention that they merit from the American
admiralty bar. These are the Brussels Convention of 1926 for the
Unification of Certain Rules of Law Relating to Mortgages and
Liens' and the Brussels Convention of 1952 on Arrest of Sea-Going
Vessels. 2 Although the United States is not a party to either of these
*A.B. 1958, Princeton; LL.B. 1961, Harvard. Member, New York Bar; associated
with firm of Kramer, Marx, Greenlee & Bachus, New York, N.Y.
t PART TWO of this article will be published in the first issue of 1964 Duax L.J.
It will deal primarily with the 1952 Brussels Convention on Arrest of Sea-Going Vessels
and problems arising thereunder.
I International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of Law Relating to
Maritime Liens and Mortgages [hereinafter cited as Liens Cony.], Brussels, April 10,
1926, official text in French and in custody of Belgian government, published in
L.N.T.S. No. 2765 and 13 Rzvux DE DROIT MARITIME CoMPARt 535 (1926). For English
translations see 6 BENEDICT, ADMIRALTY 382 (7th ed. Knauth 1958) [hereinafter cited as
BENEDICT]; PRICE, MARITIME LIENS 239 (1940) [hereinafter cited as PmcE]. A semi-
official English translation of the 1926 Convention is printed next to the official French
version in INTERNATIONAL MARITIME COMMITTEE, MINUTES or XXVth CONFERENCE,
ATtENs, 1962 at 78 [hereinafter cited at XXVth CONFERENCE MINUTES]. This volume
contains, inter alia, texts of all Brussels conventions on maritime law, ratifications and
accessions, and minutes and resolutions of the 1962 conference.
The English text used in the present article is the PRICE translation as printed in
BENEDICT; the translation varies in certain respects from that of the International Mari-
time Committee.
For background on international conferences and work of the Comit6 Maritime
International leading up to this convention, see PRICE 218-37; Diena, Principes du
Droit International Privd Maritime, 51 RECUBIL DES CouRs, ACADEMIE DE DRorr INTER-
NATIONAL 409, 438-40 (1935).
2 International Convention Relating to the Arrest of Sea-Going Ships (Saisie Con-
servatoire des Navires de Mer) [hereinafter cited as Arrest Cony.], Brussels, May 10,
1952, official texts in English and French. See XXVth CONFERENCE MINUTES 118
(French and English texts); 6 BENEDICT 9 (English text with notes on signatories);
[1952] DROIT MARITIME FRAN AIS 582 [hereinafter cited as D.M.F.] (French text). For
a general discussion, see Ripert, Les Conventions de Bruxelles du 10 Mai 1952 sur
l'Unification du Droit Maritime, [1952] D.M.F. 343, 853-59.
 DUKE LAW JOURNAL [Vol. 1963: 671

conventions, they have been accepted by a considerable number of

nations and have formed the basis for domestic legislation on mari-
time liens and their enforcement in a number of newly independent
nations.3 The 1926 Liens Convention has furthered uniform recog-
nition of ship mortgages; it has delimited the number of maritime
claims entitled to the status of liens upon a vessel and provided
uniform rules on priority questions. The 1952 Arrest Convention
has made available in a larger number of countries the provisional
remedy of arrest or attachment of a vessel in order to assure mari-
time lienors an effective means of enforcement of their claims.
Unfortunately these two conventions have been only partially
successful in achieving their objective of furthering uniformity in
the laws of the maritime nations on questions relating to the creation
and enforceability of security interests in ships. According to one
view, "the principle of uniformity has come into conflict with various
private interests which have felt that the added convenience of inter-
national accord and predictability would not compensate for the
economic disadvantage of alteration of national law." 4 Chance con-
tinues to play a very significant role in determining rights in a vessel,
whether arising out of contract claims, tort claims, or security in-
terests. With the laws of nations differing so widely on the creation
and enforcement of maritime liens, "a lienor may have his claim
substantially satisfied or entirely shut out, depending upon the
jurisdiction in which the vessel is seized and sold."5,
The need for uniformity in this area may be illustrated by posing
a number of questions affecting all types of organizations concerned
with shipping--whether the financing, construction, ownership or
supplying of ships. If a ship mortgage is created in the United States
on an American flag vessel, will it be recognized as valid in the many
possible countries where the vessel may call and in whose courts the
mortgagee may be obliged to assert his rights? If an American
creditor holds a ship mortgage on a foreign flag vessel, will the mort-
gage be enforceable in the United States0 or in various foreign coun-
'See table of states having ratified or adhered to the 1926 and 1952 Conventions,
p. 674-75 infra. Other nations having patterned domestic law on the conventions are
listed on p. 675.
' See Comment, 64 YALE L.J. 878, 899 (1955).
*Id. at 893.
'Ship mortgages in the United States are recognized as valid liens in admiralty
only if complying with the statutory formalities of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920
§ 30 (Preferred Ship Mortgage Act of 1920), 41 Stat. 1005 (1920), 46 U.S.C. §§ 911-61
(1958). The Preferred Ship Mortgage Act was amended June 29, 1954, by what is popu-
larly referred to as the Foreign Ship Mortgage Act, 68 Stat. 323 (1954), 46 U.S.C. § 951
Vol. 1963: 671] SHIP MORTGAGES AND MARITIME LIENS 673
tries? If a supply or repairman in New York furnishes supplies or
repairs to a Panamanian vessel, this ordinarily gives rise to a mari-
time lien under American law7 and the supplyman may bring a libel
in rem against the vessel and have it sold by order of the court in
the event of nonpayment or the shipowner's insolvency. If, how-
ever, the vessel never returns to the United States but is known to
be lying in a foreign port, may the supplyman enforce his maritime
lien there? And if the Panamanian vessel in the example above is
subject to a ship mortgage and the funds obtainable from judicial
sale of the vessel are insufficient to pay all creditors, who will be
entitled to priority-mortgagee or supplyman?
Unfortunately, the answers to these and many other related ques-
tions affecting the rights of persons advancing credit to shipowners
are far from clear when a ship bearing the flag of one nation and
creditors who are nationals of another nation are engaged in litiga-
tion in the courts of a third nation, or for that matter, even in the
national courts of one of the parties. Although the United States
is not a party to either convention, the American litigant may very
well find his rights determined according to one or the other or both
of these international conventions. Conversely, an American ad-
miralty court adjudicating the rights of foreign litigants should,
under modem choice of law principles, apply the maritime law most
closely connected with the transaction, and this will not always be
the substantive rules of our own maritime law.8
(1958). Until this 1954 amendment, it was uncertain whether mortgages on foreign
flag vessels would be recognized or could be enforced in United States admiralty courts.
See GiLMOIt & BLACK, ADMIRALTY 576-79 (1957) [hereinafter cited as GILmORE & BLACK].
For cases under the 1954 act, see note 108 infra.
The history of ship mortgages in the United States and an evaluation of the ship
mortgage as a form of investment in the light of the Preferred Ship Mortgage Act of
1920 and recent decisions construing it are excellently treated in Gyory, Security at
Sea: A Review of the Preferred Ship Mortgage, 31 FoRDHtAm L. REv. 231 (1962).
7The maritime lien law of the United States was made the subject of a federal
statute in what is popularly known as the Federal Maritime Lien Act of 1910 (Act
of June 23, 1910), 36 Stat. 604 (1910), merged into Merchant Marine Act of 1920 § 30,
41 Stat. 1005 (1920), 46 U.S.C. §§ 971-75 (1958). The supplyman's lien for necessaries
arising under 46 U.S.C. § 971 is discussed in PART Two of this article. For a compre-
hensive discussion of the act, see GiLMoRE & BLACK 537-68.
8 Subject to the doctrine of forum non conveniens, United States admiralty courts
take jurisdiction of suits on maritime claims arising out of transactions anywhere in
the world. It would be highly unjust to apply United States law to "maritime occur-
rences having no connection with the United States beyond the circumstance that suit
is brought here." GILMORE & BLACK 46-47.
Typical conflict of laws problems in the area of maritime liens will be discussed in
PART Two of this article. Both American and foreign decisions on this subject are
cited in 4 RABEL, CONFLICT OF LAWS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY [hereinafter cited as RAnFL
113-22 (1958),
 DUKE LAW JOURNAL [Vol. 1963. 671

In this article, an attempt will be made to correlate the basic

provisions of these two conventions, the one dealing with creation
and international recognition of liens and mortgages, and the other
with their enforcement. The case law support will center on French
decisions, for France is one of the few countries to be a party to both
conventions and in addition to have enacted domestic legislation
based upon the 1926 Convention. Wherever possible the solutions
reached under the conventions will be compared with American
admiralty practice.

I
SIGNATORIES TO THE BRUSSELS CONVENTIONS OF 1926 AND 1952
The countries which have ratified or adhered to the 1926 Liens
Convention and the 1952 Arrest Convention, or to both, and the
dates of their ratification or adhesion are indicated in the table
below.'0
Convention on Convention on Arrest of
Maritime Liens (1926) Sea-Going Vessels (1952)
*Argentina April 19, 1961 Belgium April 10, 1961
Belgium June 2, 1930 *Cambodia November 12, 1956
Brazil April 23, 1931 *Costa Ricall July 13, 1955
2
Denmark June 2, 1930 Egypt1 August 24, 1953
Estonia June 2, 1930 France May 25, 1957
*Finland July 12, 1934 Great Britain and
France August 23, 1935 Northern Ireland March 18, 1959

9 Since 1885, French maritime cases as well as maritime cases of general international
interest from other countries have been reported in a series of periodicals as follows:
1885-1922, REVUE INTERNATIONALE DE DROIT MARITIME, vols. 1-34; 1923-1939, REVUE
DE DROIT MARITIME COMPARg, vols. 1-40 (edited by Leopold Dor) [hereinafter cited as
REv. DoR] and REvUE DE DROIT MARITIME COMPARt: SUPPLEMENT BIMENSUEL DE DROIT
MARITIME FRANAIS, VOLS.1-17 (also under the editorship of Leopold Dor) [hereinafter
cited as DOR SuP.]; 1949-present, D.M.F. The early maritime cases are also reported
in JOURNAL DU DROIT INTERNATIONAL PRIvA [hereinafter cited as CLUNET] (since 1874)
and JOURNAL DE JURISPRUDENCE COMMERCIALE ET MARITIME Du TRIBUNAL BE COMMERCE
DE MARSEILLE, vols. 1-116 (1820-1939).
The treatises on French maritime law upon which principal reliance was placed in
the preparation of this article are CHAUVEAU, TRAnTL DE DROIT MARITIME (1958)
[hereinafter cited as CHAUVrAU] and RIPERT, TRAIT DE DROIT MARTIME (4th ed., 3
vols. 1950-53) [hereinafter cited as RIPERT]. The French law of February 19, 1949,
harmonizing the French Code of Commerce with the 1926 Convention on Liens and
Mortgages, is discussed in note 50 infra.
1o This table is based upon information received from the Comit6 Maritime Inter-
national, Antwerp, Belgium. See XXVth CONFERENCE MINUTES 208, 212.
11 Costa Rica adhered, subject to reservations, inter alia, that a vessel may not be
arrested unless it is the vessel with respect to which the maritime lien arose. See 6
BENEDICT 14.
22 Egypt adhered subject to the reservation permitted in the 1952 Convention, art. 10.
Ibid.
Vol. 1963: 671] SHIP MORTGAGES AND MARITIME LIENS 675
Convention on Convention on Arrest of
Maritime Liens (1926) Sea-Going Vessels (1952)
Hungary June 2, 1930 *Haiti November 4, 1954
Italy December 7, 1949 Portugal May 4, 1957
*Monaco May 15, 1931 Vatican August 10, 1956
Norway October 10, 1933 Spain December 8, 1953
Poland October 26, 1936 *Switzerland May 28, 1954
*Portugal December 24, 1931 *Overseas Territories
Rumania August 4, 1937 of France; Togo,
Spain June 2, 1930 Cameroon April 23, 1958
*Syria February 14, 1951
Sweden July 1, 1938
*Switzerland May 28, 1954
*Turkey July 4, 1955

A number of contracting states to the 1926 Convention have

enacted domestic legislation based upon the provisions of that con-
vention. These include Belgium,15 France,1 4 Italy 5 and Poland.1 6
The conventions have also been the models for domestic legislation
in other countries which neither were signatories nor chose to adhere
formally to the conventions, for example, Egypt,' 7 Israel,' 8 Japan, 9
20 2
Lebanon and Tunisia. 1

0 States which were not original signatories but which have adhered to the conven-
tions by formally notifying the Belgian government, official custodian of the conventions.
13 See Belgian Commercial Code, as amended by Law of Nov. 28, 1928. See St.
Walcke Frres v. Van Neuville, Cour d'Appel, Ghent, June 12, 1933, aff'g, Ostend,
Aug. 12, 1932, 32 REv. DOR 126 (1935).
21 Law of April 19, 1949, modifying French Code of Commerce, arts. 190-96. See
note 50 infra.
'1 Italian Code of Navigation, arts. 548-64 (1942), translated in MANcA, Tim ITALIAN

CODE OF NAVIGATION (1958). For an American court's view on what constitutes Italian
maritime law and what choice of law principles govern in Italian courts, see Brandon
v. S.S. Denton, 302 F.2d 404 (5th Cir. 1962).
20 Polish Maritime Code (1961), discussed in Lopuski, Le premier code maritime de
Pologne, [1962] D.M.F. 240. Prior to enactment of this code, Polish maritime law
followed the German Commercial Code of 1897, bk. IV.
27 Law No. 35 of March 6, 1961, adopted the provisions of the 1926 Convention into
Egyptian domestic law, with one exception (see note 43 infra). See Chlala, Note,
[1952] D.M.F. 444.
18
Law No. 5720 of 1960, which came into force February 17, 1961, incorporates the
features of the 1926 Convention. Prior to this act, maritime law was a mixture of Eng-
lish and Turkish law. See Friedman, Le droit maritime d'Israel, [1962] D.M.F. 52;
Gottschalk, Les ddvelopments rdcents du droit maritime Israelien, [1963] D.M.F. 373.
10 Commercial Code of Japan, bk. IV (Maritime Commerce), ch. VII (Ship's Credi-
tors), arts. 842-51. See also, on privileges, Civil Code of Japan, arts. 303-05, 333-37.
The proceeds obtained by a creditor as a result of successful exercise of a preferential
right may be taxable under national and local Japanese law.
20 Lebanon, Code de Commerce Maritime, arts. 48-60 (1947).
.1 Code de Commerce Maritime Tunisien, promulgated in Journal Officiel, April 27
and May 4, 1962, incorporates provisions derived from 1926 Liens Convention and
1952 Arrest Convention. See Bokobza, Apergus sur le code de commerce maritime
tunisien, [1962] D.M.F. 760, where the author also points out that maritime codes
have recently been promulgated in other newly independent nations including Male-
gache Republic (June 15, 1960); Ivory Coast (November 9, 1961); Mauritania (January
20, 1962); Cameroon (March 31, 1962) and Senegal (not yet in effect).
 DUKE LAW JOURNAL [Vol. 1963: 671

II
THE 1926 CONVENTION ON LIENS AND MORTGAGES
One of the principal purposes of the 1926 Convention was to
assure recognition in the courts of one country of ship mortgages
validly executed according to the laws of another country. A second
objective was to fix by international agreement the types of maritime
claims entitled to recognition as liens and to preference over mort-
22
gages in the event of a shipowner's insolvency.
A. Uniform Recognition of Mortgages
Article 123 of the 1926 Convention provides for the uniform
recognition in the courts of any contracting state of ship mortgages
or hypothecations created under the laws of another contracting
state. This provision has the effect of a uniform choice of law rule
under which the validity of a mortgage on a vessel is to be deter-
mined by the law of the flag, rather than by the law of the place of
contracting or the law of the forum. The principle of the 1926
Convention that the validity of ship mortgages should be governed
by the law of the flag has gained general acceptance, even in non-
signatory countries, such as Great Britain 4 and the United States. 25
22
The 1926 Convention represented over twenty years of deliberations by the Comit6
Maritime International. These efforts at international unification are reviewed in
detail in PmicE 218-37. Prior to World War I, the United States delegation was very
much opposed to suggestions that the lien for necessaries be relegated to an inferior
position. By the time objections of the United States delegation were heeded and a
lien for necessaries was given priority over mortgages, the relative ranking of liens and
mortgages had been reversed in the United States by virtue of the Ship Mortgage Act
of 1920. See also Franck, The New Law for the Seas, 42 L.Q. Rxv. 308 (1926); Ripert,
La Confdrence Diplomatique de 1926, 14 Rav. DOR 34 (1936); Comment, supra note 4,
at 893-905.
23 Article 1 provides: "Mortgages, hypothecations and other similar charges upon
vessels, duly effected in accordance with the law of the Contracting State to which the
vessel belongs, and registered in a public register either at the port of the vessel's
registry or at a central office, shall be recognised and treated as valid in all the other
Contracting States."
- In The Colorado, [1923] P. 102 (CA.), a French vessel was arrested by an English
repairman. The mortgagee, holding a "hypoth~que" registered under the law of France,
intervened. It was held that the mortgagee should be treated as having a claim
equivalent to a domestic registered mortgage, with priority over the repair lien, and
not as having an unregistered mortgage. While under French law a mortgagee did
not possess the right to take possession, but only a right to proceed by legal process
to arrest the vessel, nevertheless this right followed the ship into whoever's hands it
might come, and hence the mortgagee had a property right in the vessel at the time
when the repairman arrested her. The case is noted in 2 Rav. DOR 191 (1923). In
The Acrux, [1962] 1 Lloyd's List L.R. 405 (Adm. Div. 1962), [1963] D.M.F. 242, an
English court gave effect to an Italian mortgage. See also Lord & Glenn, The Foreign
Ship Mortgage, 56 YA.LE L.J. 923, 931-34 (1947).
25 Foreign Ship Mortgage Act of 1954, 68 Stat. 323 (1954), 46 U.S.C. § 951 (1958).
See note 108 infra. Prior to the 1954 enactment, the status of foreign ship mortgages
Vol. 1963: 671] SHIP MORTGAGES AND MARITIME LIENS 677

It may fairly be said that the convention was "the first significant step
toward a firm international recognition of rights in vessels." 2 Thus
in courts of contracting states, mortgages on vessels of contracting
states will by virtue of the convention be governed by the law of
flag; mortgages on vessels of noncontracting states, e.g. a mortgage
upon a United States flag vessel in France, will most likely be gov-
erned by the law of the flag under general conflict of laws principles
27
rather than under the convention.
Aside from the question of uniform recognition of mortgages,
the other pressing problem of an international dimension in 1926
was the determination of the number of maritime liens entitled to
preference over mortgages. Even in those countries where they were
recognized as valid, foreign ship mortgages were treated as inferior
in rank to the older maritime liens like materialmen's liens, bot-
tomry and respondentia. 28 A vessel subject to a ship mortgage would
pick up higher ranking liens as it traveled from port to port, preju-
dicing the security of mortgagees. Article 329 of the 1926 Conven-
tion established that mortgages rank immediately below certain types
of liens enumerated in article 2,30 which include materialmen's liens.
In this respect the convention differs from American law where,
under the Preferred Ship Mortgage Act of 1920, registered mortgages
in United States courts was dubious. See The Secundus, 15 F.2d 711 (E.D.N.Y. 1926);
GILMORE & BLAcK 576-79.
204 RABE. 110. The ship mortgage was a mid-19th century innovation, developed
during the period of transition from sail to steam to provide security to lenders who
financed the construction of ships. CHiuvAu 121-22. The Anglo-American courts
were first inclined not to recognize ship mortgages as within the admiralty jurisdiction.
In the United States, the ship mortgage was considered to be a nonmaritime contract.
The J. E. Rumbell, 148 U.S. 1 (1893); Bogart v. The John Jay, 58 U.S. (17 How.) 399
(1854). In England, the mortgage statute granted recognition in admiralty to regis-
tered domestic mortgages only. See Lord & Glenn, supra note 24, at 923, 932.
In civil law countries where the chattel mortgage was unknown, the ship mortgage
was especially suspect. The early decisions in France and Belgium, for example, re-
fused to give effect to English mortgages and Greek hypothecations. See decisions
collected in 2 R'ip.RT 24. It was not until the laws permitting the hypothecation of
vessels were enacted in France and Belgium that the courts there came to recognize
foreign mortgages and to hold that an English mortgage was similar in essential respects
to a civil law hypothecation. Barbaressos v. Mitaras, Marseille, April 8, 1876, 3 CLUNET
455 (1876), Cour d'Appel, Aix, Nov. 22, 1876 (1878), Cour de Cassation (Ch. Civ.),
Nov. 25, 1879, 7 CLUNET 583 (1880).
" The Wang Importer, Tribunal de Grande Instance, St. Nazaire, May 26, 1961
(unreported), on appeal, Cour d'Appel, Rennes, Feb. 6, 1962, [1962] D.M.F. 475 (court
looked to American law to determine validity of mortgage on American flag vessel).
See 4 RABEL 111 and discussion on conflict of laws in PART Two of this article. For-
eign decisions giving effect to United States preferred ship mortgages are discussed in
Gyory, supra note 6, at 251-52.
28 See Lord & Glenn, supra note 24, at 926-27.
2oSee note 69 infra.
oSee note 37 infra.
 DUKE LAW JOURNAL (Vol. 1963: 671

on United States vessels have priority over subsequent materialmen's

liens,31 and mortgages on foreign flag vessels have substantially the
same priority as domestic mortgages, except that liens of United
States materialmen will prevail over the foreign mortgage.82 Like-
wise in Great Britain, registered ship mortgages are superior in rank
to claims of supply and repairmen under municipal law. 83
The difficult problems of priority arise when a vessel of a noncon-
vention state is arrested and sold in a contracting state, or a vessel
of a contracting state is libeled in a nonconvention state such as the
United States. Although validity of a foreign mortgage is usually
governed by the law of the flag, the relative priority of mortgages
and nonconsensual liens is usually subject to the lex fori.84
The 1926 Convention does not purport to regulate the formali-
ties necessary for the creation of a mortgage or to set forth the
respective rights of mortgagor, mortgagee or holder of a "hypoth6-
85
que." These matters are left to domestic law.
B. Maritime Liens and Their Ranking
1. Liens Entitled to InternationalRecognition
The 1926 Convention equates the maritime lien of Anglo-Ameri-
can admiralty law with the "privilege" recognized in the civil law
3141 Stat. 1003, § 30K (1920), as amended, 68 Stat. 323 (1954), 46 U.S.C. § 951 (1958).
See text at notes 104-08 infra for a discussion of the relative priority of mortgages and
materialmen's liens under United States law and under the convention.
3268 Stat. 323 (1954), 46 U.S.C. § 951 (1958). See note 108 infra.
3 Under English law, supply and repairmen are considered to have "statutory"
maritime liens, under § 6 of the Admiralty Court Act of 1840, 3 8- 4 Vict. c. 65, and
§ 5 of the Admiralty Court Act of 1861, 24 Vict. c. 10. Statutory liens, as compared
to the ancient liens of wages, salvage, collision, bottomry, attach to the vessel only
upon its arrest, as opposed to the time when the underlying obligation arises. Thm-
PERLEY, MERCHANT SHIPPING AcTs 32 (6th ed. 1963) [hereinafter cited as TEMPERLEY].
The registered ship mortgage has, by judicial decision, been given a relative priority
subsequent to the ancient liens existing before creation of the mortgage, but prior
to the "statutory" liens. Lord & Glenn, supra note 24, at 932; PRICE 106-07.
344 RABEL 119-22. See also PART Two of this article dealing with the Brussels
conventions and conflict of laws problems.
35Liens Conv., art. 12, provides that: "National laws must prescribe the nature and
form of documents to be carried on board the vessel on which entry must be made of
mortgages, hypothecations, and other charges referred to in Article 1 ...."
The convention treats common law mortgages and civil law hypothecations as
being substantially equivalent. The Anglo-American ship mortgage developed out
of the chattel mortgage. Since chattel mortgages were not recognized in civil law,
the hypothecation of vessels was the outgrowth of the hypoth que on land and im-
movables. The essential difference between the mortgage and hypoth~que lies in the
mortgagee's automatic right to take possession of the vessel upon the mortgagor's default.
See TEMPERIEY 28; note 29 supra. For a full comparative treatment, see Franck,
De l'Hypothque Maritime: Droit Compar, et Conflict de Lois, 11 REv. INT. Du DROIT
MARMME 256 (REV. AUTRAN) (1895-96).
Vol. 1963:671] SHIP MORTGAGES AND MARITIME LIENS 679

countries 36 and then attempts to reduce conflict of laws problems

by providing a uniform set of rules which are to be applied in each
of the contracting states on the questions of creation, extinction, and
relative priority of liens. The convention divides liens into two
categories. The first category 37 includes five classes of liens which
must be accorded international recognition in the courts of any con-
tracting state; these liens will prime ship mortgages. 3 8 The second
category 9 includes any liens existing under the domestic law of a
contracting state but not recognized as a lien in the first category;
40
liens in the second category are inferior to ship mortgages.
The five classes of liens in the first category are (1) legal costs
and expenses of preserving the vessel during the period in which it
30 Maritime liens are in essence secret liens, neither dependent upon possession nor
requiring recording or notice of any kind. They are largely nonconsensual and arise
by operation of law out of certain claims in contract and in tort. They have little in
common with the liens recognized on land. See GmmoRE & BLAcK 480-83; PRICE 1-15;
Hebert, The Origin and Nature of Maritime Liens, 4 Tm. L. REv. 381 (1930).
The American lien has recently been described as a synthesis of rights, including
"the creditor's right to be satisfied out of a particular piece of the debtor's property,
the creditor's preferred rank entitling him to full satisfaction to the extent of the
property's value ahead of other creditors and the right to follow the property and
make a claim upon it after its ownership has been transferred." On the continent, the
privilege is essentially one against the owner, but with a right over to his property.
Gyory, supra note 6, at 251. There are at least five different systems of allowing
privileged rights in the case of a judicial sale of a vessel. 4 RAREL 114. On maritime
liens in Great Britain, see note 33 supra.
37 Liens Cony., art. 2: "Maritime liens shall attach to a vessel, to the freight for the
voyage during which the secured claim arises, and to the accessories of the vessel and
freight accrued since the commencement of the voyage, in respect of the following-
(1) Law costs and fees due to the state and other expenses incurred in the common
interest of the creditors in order to preserve the vessel, or to procure her sale and the
distribution of the proceeds of sale; tonnage dues, light, dock and harbour dues, and
other public rates and charges of the same character; charges for pilotage, and charges
for watching and preserving the vessel from the time of her entry into the last port;
(2) Claims under the contract of service of the master, crew, or other persons
serving on board the vessel;
(3) Remuneration for salvage, and the contribution of the vessel in general average;
(4) Claims due for collision or other accidents of navigation, and for damage
caused to works in or about harbours, docks, and navigable waterways; for personal
injury to passengers or crew and for loss of or damage to cargo or passengers' baggage;
(5) Claims resulting from contracts entered into or transactions carried out by the
master, acting within the scope of his authority, away from the vessel's home port,
where such contracts or transactions are necessary for the preservation of the vessel or
the continuation of her voyage, whether the master is or is not at the same time
owner of the vessel, and whether the claim is his own or that of ship suppliers, re-
pairers, lenders or other contractual creditors."
38 Liens Cony., art. 3, para. 1, note 69 infra.
30 Id. at para. 2.
0
Ibid.
 DUKE LAW JOURNAL [Vol. 1963: 671

is in the custody of the court; 41 (2) wages of master and crew; 42 (3)
salvage, general average; (4) claims for collision and damage to
harbors and canals, 4? personal injury and damage to cargo; 44 (5)
supplies, repairs and master's disbursements. 4 5 A lienor in the first
category enjoys two advantages over an ordinary creditor: first, a
right to follow the vessel and assert the lien against it, even into the
hands of a bona fide purchaser; 46 secondly, a right of preference over
, See, e.g., The Wang Importer: (St6. Alg~rienne des P~troles Mory, RVpublique
Federale des Atats Unis v. St6. Emerson S.S. Corp., Atats Fran~ais), Cour d°Appel,
Rennes, Feb. 6, 1962, [1962] D.M.F. 475, where court holding proceeds totaling 1,180,000
new francs from sale of a vessel held that first priority should be granted to legal costs
of 996.43 N.F. under art. 191 (1) of the Code of Commerce; second priority to a privi-
leged claim of 116,717.30 N.F. for expenses of arresting the vessel and preserving it
(including watchmen's fees) under the Code, art. 191 (2). In the lower court proceed-
ing (Tribunal de Grande Instance, St. Nazaire, May 26, 1961 (unreported)), the Ameri-
can mortgagee was granted preference over all but local costs of attachments and actual
wages. Apparently the French court rejected an attempt by American pension and
welfare vacation plans to pursue remedies in France which did not exist in America.
See Gyory, supra note 6, at 251-53. Related actions were brought in United States
courts. See Barnouw v. The Ozark, 304 F.2d 717 (5th Cir. 1962), cert. denied, 371 U.S.
923 (1962); Wall St. Traders, Inc. v. Wang, 1961 Am. Mar. Cas. 986 (Sup. Ct. N.Y. 1960),
afJ'd,2 13 App. Div. 2d 767, 217 N.Y.S.2d 501 (1961) (memorandum decision).
' E.g., The Wang Importer, supra note 41 (American crewmen and officers entitled
to privilege under art. 191 (3) of French Code of Commerce for wages and other bene-
fits owing under contracts of service and repatriation costs); Decima v. St. Comaric,
Trib. Comm., Seine, June 9, 1958, [1959] D.M.F. 434 (wages of musicians on cruise
ship privileged under art. 191 (3)); Faux v. Faillite des Etablissements M~tallurgiques
Moyen, Trib. Comm., Cherbourg, Nov. 12, 1954, [1955] D.M.F. 487 (wages of master);
The Agadir: (Syndic de la faillite Cie. gdn~rale de g~rance d'affr~tements et de naviga-
tion v. Cie. privfe marocaine), Cour d'Appel, Rabat, Morocco, Jan. 5, 1954, [1954]
D.M.F. 623 (medical expenses of crew; repatriation costs).
'3 Under Egyptian domestic law based upon the convention, the liens for damage
to canals and harbor works rank first. See note 17 supra.
" The continental law on privileges, much of it based upon the French Commercial
Code of 1808, did not originally grant a maritime privilege to tort, salvage or general
average claims. Ripert, La rdforme des privileges maritimes par [a loi du 19 fevrier
1949, [1949] D.M.F. 223, 226.
" See notes 77, 108 infra and accompanying text.
"1Liens Cony., art. 8: "Claims secured by a lien shall follow the vessel into what-
ever hands she may pass." See, e.g., Faux v. Faillite des Etablissements Mdtallurgiques
Moyen, Trib. Comm., Cherbourg, Nov. 12, 1954, [1955] D.M.F. 487 (purchaser of vessel
liable for wage claims of captain and captain's disbursements for necessaries). This
right to follow the vessel, in French droit de suite, corresponds to what in American
admiralty is referred to as the indelibility of liens, and is reflected in the right of the
lienor to sue the vessel itself in an in rem proceeding. See GILmoaRE & BLACK 482, 489-
92. English lien theory differs somewhat, in that the proceeding in rem is in substance
a proceeding against the owner. See Hebert, supra note 36. Continental jurisdictional
concepts, which will be discussed in PART Two of this article, do not recognize an
action in rem, and all actions are in personam.
Although the droit de suite in article 8 is not expressly limited to voluntary aliena-
tions, it should, under general principles of law, be so limited. Despite occasional
decisions to the contrary, judicial sales by admiralty courts having proper jurisdiction
Vol. 1963: 671] SHIP MORTGAGES AND MARITIME LIENS 681
mortgagees and other creditors. 47
The convention itself is primarily applicable in courts of the con-
tracting states to resolution of disputes involving nationals or vessels
of other contracting states. 48 Ratification or adhesion to the conven-
tion was, however, but a first step towards international unification
and the reduction of conflicts in domestic laws. A second step was
the enactment of domestic legislation based upon the convention.49
This has required reduction in the number of liens recognized for
domestic law purposes to the five classes in the first category. Thus,
for example, in France the Law of February 19, 1949, caused the
provisions of the convention to be codified as part of the Code of
Commerce, replacing obsolete articles on maritime privileges which
dated from 1808.50 One of the principal changes effected by this
legislation was elimination of many maritime privileges of a con-
tractual nature 1 and the recognition for the first time in France of
privileges for salvage, general average and for maritime tort claims,
such as collision and personal injury, which enjoyed lien status under
Anglo-American law but not generally under continental law.5 2
Thus one of the benefits of the convention has been to reduce the
number of differences between types of claims giving rise to liens
under Anglo-American law on the one hand and to privileges under
continental law on the other.
accompanied by sale of the vessel are internationally recognized. See 4 RABEL 108; note
67 infra.
It should be noted, further, that the droit de suite of certain liens may be extin-
guished if the applicable domestic law provides a system for giving preliminary notice
of a contemplated sale at the port of registry. See Liens Cony., art. 9, para. 4; text
accompanying note 64 infra.
'7 Liens Cony., art. 3, para. 1, note 69 infra.
'8 Liens Cony., art. 14: "The provisions of this Convention shall be applied in each
Contracting State in cases in which the vessel to which the claim relates belongs to a
Contracting State, as well as in any other cases provided for by the national laws."
"1See notes 13-21 supra.
60 Law No. 49-226 of Feb. 19, 1949, Journal Officiel de la REpublique Fran:ais
1890 [hereinafter cited as J.0.], Feb. 19, 1949, [1949] D.M.F. 345. This law repealed old
arts. 190-96 of the Code of Commerce and substituted therefor new arts. 190-96; it also
modified art. 214 of the Code of Commerce (relating to priorities between creditors)
and arts. 320 and 331 of the Code of Commerce. Inconsistent provisions of the Law of
July 10, 1885, the basic French statute relating to ship hypothecations, were abrogated.
For legislative history of Law of 1949 see Ripert, supra note 44. This law was made
applicable to French overseas territories and to the then trusteeship territories of Togo
and Cameroons by Decree No. 50-1047, Aug. 19, 1950, J.O. 9199, Aug. 27, 1950.
1 E.g., privileges given formerly to shipbuilders, outfitters, insurance companies for
premiums, towage, warehousemen. See CHAuvEAu 182-33; PIUCa 190-205; Ripert, supra
note 44, at 227.
52 See note 44 supra.
 DUKE LAW JOURNAL [Vol. 1963: 671

2. PropertySubject to Liens or Privileges

Liens or privileges attach to the "vessel," 53 the "freight for the
voyage during which the secured claim arises" 54 and to the "acces-
sories of the vessel." 55 If a vessel has been chartered by the owner,
the provisions of the convention on the creation of liens continue to
apply, even where a charter party provides that the charterer shall
not be authorized to permit liens to attach against the vessel.50 There
are no formalities prescribed for proof of the liens enumerated in
article 2, except in so far as domestic law applicable otherwise pro-
13See Liens Conv., art. 2, note 37 supra. The vessel includes the hull, appurtenances,
victuals, food, and generally all equipment on board. CHAUVEAu 137. When a wrecked
vessel has been deregistered, the privilege is deemed extinguished. See Trdsor Public
v. St. d'Entreprise de Travaux Publics de l'Ouest, Cour de Cassation (Ch. civ., sect.
comm.), March 8, 1954, [1954J D.M.F. 325. On circumstances under which a lien at-
taches to a wreck under United States law, see PRICE 171.
11Liens Cony., art. 2, supra note 37. The last paragraph of article 4 provides, how-
ever, that the lien of master and crew for wages, etc. attaches to the "total freight due
for all voyages" and not merely the last voyage. See CHAuvEAu 137.
5 Liens Cony., art. 4, provides, in part: "The accessories of the vessel and freight,
mentioned in Article 2, mean-
(1) Compensation due to the owner for material damage sustained by the vessel
and not repaired, or for loss of freight;
(2) General average contributions due to the owner, in respect of material damage
sustained by the vessel and not repaired, or in respect of loss of freight;
(3) Remuneration due to the owner for salvage services rendered at any time before
the end of the voyage, excluding any sums allotted or apportioned to the master or
other persons in the service of the vessel.
Freight shall be deemed to include passage money. In cases where liability is
limited pursuant to the provisions of the Convention on the Limitation of Shipowners'
Liability the fixed sum of 10 per cent on the value of the vessel at the beginning of
the voyage provided for by Article 4 of that Convention shall be substituted for freight
for the purpose of this Convention.
Payments made or due to the owner on poliies of insurance, as well as bounties,
subventions, and other national subsidies, are not included as accessories of the vessel
or of the freight.
Notwithstanding anything in the opening words of Article 2, the lien in favour
of persons in the service of the vessel shall extend to the total amount of freight due
for all voyages made during the subsistence of the same contract of service."
Insurance proceeds are specifically excluded from the accessories of the vessel to
which liens or privileges attach. See Liens Conv., art. 4, and its French domestic law
equivalent, art. 192, Code of Commerce. Prior to the reform law of 1949, this point
was unclear in France. See CHAuvEAu 138. As a result of the law of 1949, it is now
possible in France for mortgagees to expressly provide in the ship mortgage that the
proceeds of insurance will first be allocated to satisfaction of the mortgage. Compare
with doctrine under United States law that when a vessel is destroyed, the lien does
not attach to the insurance money, this being the proceeds of a collateral personal
contract between the owner and the insurer, and not an interest in the vessel. A. M.
Bright Grocery Co. v. Lindsey, 225 Fed. 257 (S.D. Ala. 1915); PRICE 171.
50 Liens Cony., art. 13: "The foregoing provisions of this Convention also apply to
vessels in the possession of a time charterer or other person operating, but not being
the owner of the vessel, except in cases where the owner has been dispossessed by an
illegal act, or where the claimant is not a bona fide claimant."
Vol. 1963: 671] SHIP MORTGAGES AND MARITIME LIENS 683
vides.5 7 It should be noted that the convention does not apply "to
vessels of war, nor to government vessels appropriated exclusively
58
to the public service." .

3. Extinction of Liens
Liens or privileges may be extinguished by (1) the passage of
time, (2) voluntary sale of the vessel or (3) judicial sale upon fore-
closure. Article 9 (1) of the 1926 Convention provides explicit
guidance on the first of these grounds for extinction. A lienor must
look to municipal law and to the "general maritime law" to deter-
mine the effect of sales, whether voluntary or in judicial foreclosure
proceedings, upon his right to exercise a lien or privilege against
the vessel in the hands of a purchaser.
One of the principal differences between the 1926 Convention
and United States law is that the convention sets a fixed period of
limitation within which liens must be enforced. The purpose of
this provision is to provide for a quick turnover of those liens which
arise by operation of law without any formality and of which future
creditors have no notice. The limitation period is one year, except
in the case of supply and repair liens where the period is six
months. 59 Of course, if the lien or privilege has been extinguished,
the debtor continues to be liable on the underlying claim.60 All that
the creditor loses is the right of preference and the right to follow
the vessel.
Under United States admiralty law, there is no fixed period of
limitation within which maritime liens must be enforced. Rather,
the doctrine of laches applies under which the particular equitable
circumstances of each case determine whether the creditor has acted
with sufficient promptness to allow his claim as a lien upon the
vessel. 01
57Liens Cony., art. 11. One of the principal reforms resulting from adoption of
the Law of Feb. 19, 1949, in France was the elimination of detailed formalities of proof
of maritime privileges under the old articles of the Code of Commerce.
Liens Cony., art. 15.
"Liens Cony., art. 9 (1): "Maritime liens shall cease to exist, apart from any pro-
vision of national laws for their extinction upon other grounds, at the expiration of
one year: provided that the lien referred to in Article 2 (5) for necessaries supplied to
the vessel shall cease at the expiration of six months."
60$ee CnAuvFAu 307-21 and art. 216, French Code of Commerce. However, the
owner may limit his liability in France to his fortune de mer by abandoning the
vessel, freight, etc. See notes 109-13 infra for discussion on limitation of liability
proceedings.
61The Key City, 81 U.S. (14 Wall.) 653 (1871). See GILMORE & BLACK 606, 627-40.
In some cases, the state lien acts, relics of the era before federal enactment of the
 DUKE LAW JOURNAL [Vol. 1963: 671

Since one of the principal rights of a lienor is the right to arrest

the vessel and, if necessary, to require its sale and payment from the
proceeds, there is a distinct drawback to an arbitrary time limitation.
A claimant who has not had a reasonable opportunity to arrest a
6
vessel should not be barred from enforcing his lien. Article 9 (6) 2
of the convention attempts to mitigate the rigid time limitation of
article 9 (1) by providing that in the event a vessel cannot be found
within the territorial waters of a contracting state during a period of
six months, national legislation may provide for a longer period, not
to exceed three years, within which the vessel may be arrested. This
provision is far from satisfactory, however, because not all the signa-
tories to the 1926 Convention have enacted such legislation. Thus
in a case involving a vessel named Commodore Grant,03 a conflict
arose between Spanish law, which extended the statute of limita-
tions under such circumstances, and French law, which did not.
The plaintiff, a Spanish supplyman, had arrested the vessel in Mar-
seille, France, eighteen months after furnishing fuel oil under cir-
cumstances giving rise to a lien or privilege under article 2 (5) of
the convention. Spain, the place where the supplies were furnished,
was a signatory to the 1926 Convention and had availed itself of the
reservation permitted in article 9 (6), allowing a creditor up to three
years in which to enforce its claim. France was a contracting state
but had not passed legislation of the type permitted in article 9 (6).
The shipowner, after obtaining release of the vessel upon posting
security, appealed from the order of arrest, first to the Court of
Appeal of Aix and then to France's highest tribunal, the Court of
Cassation. It alleged that, more than six months having elapsed
since the supplies were furnished, the arrest was improper. It was
held upon a remand to the Court of Appeal of Nimes that arrest
was governed by the lex fori, and under French law the strict six
Maritime Lien Act of 1910, may provide limitation periods; however these will be
merely indicative of whether or not a creditor has acted promptly.
2Liens Cony., art. 9(6): "The High Contracting Parties reserve to themselves the
right to provide by legislation in their respective countries that the said periods shall
be extended, in cases where it has not been possible to arrest the vessel to which a
lien attaches in the territorial waters of the state in which the claimant has his domicile
or principal place of business, provided that the extended period shall not exceed
three years from the time when the obligation attached."
" The Commodore Grant: (North Eastern Freighters, Ltd. v. Cia Espanola de
Petroleos, S.A.), Trib. Comm., Aix en Provence, Jan. 13, 1954, [1955] D.M.F. 375, aff'd,
Cour d'Appel, Aix, May 11, 1954, [1955] D.M.F. 157, on appeal, Cour de Cassation (Ch.
civ., sect. comm.), July 17, 1957, [1958] D.M.F. 54, on remand, Cour d'Appel, Nimes,
July 2, 1958, [1959] D.M.F. 595.
Vol. 1963: 671] SHIP MORTGAGES AND MARITIME LIENS 685
months limitation was applicable. Hence the arrest was unjustified
and the supplyman was not entitled to a lien or privilege.
Assuming that the time limitations of article 9 (1) have not run,
article 9 (4) provides that liens or privileges on a vessel may be ex-
tinguished in a shorter time if the vessel is sold and notice of sale
is publicized, in the manner provided under the municipal law of
a contracting state.6 4 In comparison, under American admiralty
law it is a fundamental characteristic of the maritime lien that a
lienor is entitled to pursue his in rem remedy against a bona fide
purchaser.0 5
The 1926 Convention is virtually silent 6 on the question of the
recognition to which a judicial sale in a contracting state is entitled
in another contracting state, as, for example, the sale of a vessel of
state A in the courts of state B. As a matter of general maritime
law, attachments, seizures and judgments in rem by a competent
admiralty court are internationally recognized 67 despite occasional
6
, Liens Cony., art. 9 (4): "It shall not be permissible by a national law to make the
sale of the vessel a ground for extinction of any lien upon her unless the sale is
accompanied by such publicity as may be prescribed by the national law, including
notice to the authority charged with keeping registers referred to in Article 1 of this
Convention of such length and in such form as may be so prescribed."
In France, for example, art. 196, Code of Commerce, provides that all privileges
will be deemed extinguished two months after publication in an official bulletin of
notice of the sale or change of ownership of a vessel.
85 GILMORE & BLACK 510.
"OLiens Conv., art. 16: "Nothing in the foregoing provisions shall be deemed to
affect in any way the competence of tribunals, mode of procedure or methods of
execution authorised by the national laws."
87For collected decisions from various countries, see 4 RABEL 108. In The Acrux,
[1962] 1 Lloyd's List L.R. 405 (Adm. Div. 1962), [1963] D.M.F. 242, an Italian vessel
was arrested in England by a French supplyman and multiple creditors intervened
including an Italian bank as mortgagee under an Italian ship mortgage. The vessel
was sold by court order to a Liberian company, which was unable to register the vessel
because the Italian ship registrar refused to recognize the English sale, ordered by
the court over the objection of the Italian liquidator. The court, as a condition to
payment of the funds from its registry to the mortgagee, required the mortgagee to
file an undertaking that it would not proceed elsewhere in the world against the ship
in respect to the unsatisfied balance of its mortgage claim. The court emphasized that
the purchaser received a valid title good against all the world: "So far as all claimants
against this ship before her arrest are concerned, their claims are now against the
fund in this Court.... Were it to become established, contrary to general maritime
law, that a proper sale of a ship by a competent Court did not give a clean title, those
whose business it is to make advances of money in their various ways to enable ships
to pursue their lawful occasions would be prejudiced in all cases where it became
necessary to sell the ship under proper process of any competent Court. ...
"This Court recognizes proper sales by competerit courts of Admiralty, or Prize,
abroad-it is part of the comity of nations as well as a contribution to the general
well-being of international maritime trade." [1962] 1 Lloyd's List L.R. at 409. The
English court relied principally on two older decisions, Castrique v. Imrie, L.R. 4
H.L. 414 (1869) and The Tremont, 1 Wm. Rob. 163, 166 Eng. Rep. 534 (Adm. 1841).
 DUKE LAW JOURNAL [Vol. 1963: 671

decisions to the contrary.68

4. Priorities
Articles 3, 5 and 6 of the convention set up a system of priorities.
Article 369 provides that liens in the first category (including supply
and repair liens) will prevail over mortgages, hypothecations and
other charges. As between the five classes of liens in the first cate-
gory, their rank is in the order of their enumeration in article 2, e.g.,
legal costs, etc., wages, salvage, general average, tort claims, supply
and repairmen. 70 Multiple liens of the same class are ranked in-
versely by voyage, i.e., last voyage first. 7' Liens of the same class
and voyage "share equally and pro rata in the event of the fund
available being insufficient to pay the claims in full," 72 except that
salvage, general average, and supply and repair liens78 of the same
A creditor having a lien on a German flag vessel who fails to receive notice of a
foreclosure in a foreign country may have a restitution remedy against claimants who
have been paid out of the proceeds of sale. In Federal Court of Justice, July 6, 1961,
II ZR 161-66, von Laun, Jurisprudence allemande de Droite Maritime, [1963] D.M.F.
46, a German flag vessel was sold at execution sale in Sweden. Two German mort-
gagees intervened and shared in the proceeds. The plaintiff, who never received
notice of the Swedish proceeding but who had a claim under the social security laws,
brought an action for restitution against the mortgagees on theory that they were
unjustly enriched in receiving more than their pro rata share of proceeds. Such
action was justified on the ground that the sale in Sweden cut off plaintiff's rights
against the vessel, although plaintiff had a claim which under German law primed
the mortgages.
Although there are no recent American cases, the basic rule is that a sale in an in
rem proceeding divests all liens against the ship in the hands of the purchaser, not
merely all liens held by claimants who intervened in or had notice of the proceeding.
See Zimmern Coal Co. v. Coal Trading Ass'n, 30 F.2d 933 (5th Cir. 1929); The
Trenton, 4 Fed. 657 (E.D. Mich. 1880); RESTATEMENT, CONFLICT OF LAws, § 98, illus-
tration 1 (1934). See also GILMORE & BLACK 640-44; Gyory, Security at Sea: A Review
of the PreferredShip Mortgage, 31 FoanHAM L. REV. 231, 261-62 (1962).
"' In 4 RABEL 108 it is noted that: "Unjustifiedly, however, the French Court of
Cassation, in its only decision in point, has proclaimed that a mortgage in a French
vessel cannot be purged by a foreign sale of the ship, but only by application of the
French procedure, that is, in a French Court."
69 Liens Conv., art. 3: "The mortgages, hypothecations and other charges on vessels
referred to in Article I shall rank immediately after the liens mentioned in the pre-
ceding Article.
"National laws may grant a lien in respect of claims other than those specified in
the preceding Article; but no modifications may be made in the priority conferred
on mortgages, hypothecations or other charges, nor in that of the liens which take
precedence thereof."
70 Liens Conv., art. 5, first sentence.
71 Liens Cony., art. 6: "Claims secured by a lien and attaching to the last voyage
shall have priority over those attaching to previous voyages: provided that claims
under one and the same contract of service extending over several voyages shall all
rank with claims attaching to the last voyage."
72 Liens Corv., art. 5, para. 1; id. art. 6.
73 Liens Cony., art. 5, para. 2.
Vol. 1963: 671] SHIP MORTGAGES AND MARITIME LIENS 687
voyage rank inversely to the order in which they arose. Liens in the
second category, if any, follow mortgages, but prime claims of ordi-
74
nary creditors.
The principal difference in United States law on the ranking of
liens relates to the position of ship mortgages. Under the conven-
tion, liens of a contractual nature, such as supplymen's and repair-
men's liens, will prevail over ship mortgages,7" if timely exercised,
whereas under American law, preferred ship mortgages will prevail
over liens of supply and repairmen. 7 6 However, this priority of
supply or repairmen under the convention is somewhat illusory be-
cause, as will be explained below, the circumstances under which
these claims are privileged or give rise to liens are much more limited
than in the United States.

5. Position of Materiatmen and Mortgages Compared

The comparative position of mortgagees and materialmen under
the convention, on the one hand, and under United States law, on
the other, can be summarized as follows:
a. Lien status is conferred upon supply or repair claims only if the
supplies or repairs are furnished outside of the home port of the vessel;
no such home port limitation now exists under United States law.
b. Under the convention, supply and repairmen must prove that the
supplies or repairs were "necessary for the preservation of the vessel or
the continuation of her voyage"; under United States law, the test of
necessity is less stringent.
c. A shipowner who charters a vessel cannot contractually relieve him-
self of liability for supply and repair liens incurred by the charterer,
whereas he may do so under United States law.
d. Under the convention, a strict time limitation period of six months
will extinguish the lien; under United States law, the more flexible doc-
trine of laches prevails.
e. Generally speaking, under the convention, but not under United
States law, supply and repair liens will prime mortgages; however, this
broad statement is subject to qualifications.
'Liens Cony., art. 3 (2), note 39 supra. For examples of claims privileged under
French domestic law, but not under the convention, see notes 103-05 infra.
75 See Liens Cony., art. 3, note 69 supra.
7 The order of priority in United States courts is as follows: (1) law costs, (2) liens
arising prior in time to recording of preferred mortgages, (3) tort damages, (4) wages
of crew and stevedores, (5) general average and salvage, (6) preferred mortgages, (7)
supplies, repairs, towage, etc., (8) nonmaritime claims including nonpreferred mort-
gages. Ship Mortgage Act of 1920, 41 Stat. 1003, § 30 (M), 46 U.S.C. § 953 (1958). See I
BENEDICr 19 (6th ed. 1940).
 DUKE LAW JOURNAL [Vol. 1903: 671

a. Home Port Exclusion. Under the Federal Maritime Lien

Act of 1910,77 a supply or repair lien will arise regardless of the
place where furnished. Under the 1926 Convention 78 and under
its domestic law codifications (e.g., article 191 (6) of the French
Code of Commerce), 79 a lien attaches upon vessels only if repairs
or supplies were furnished outside of the vessel's port of registry.
This limitation reflects the view that the principal purpose for grant-
ing a lien or privilege to supply and repairmen was to assure credit
to the vessel in foreign ports where the owner was unknown. A
shipowner dealing with materialmen in the home port of his vessels
could arrange for other types of security, and it was believed by the
draftsmen of the convention that the position of mortgagees should
not be weakened by allowing claims incurred in the vessel's port of
registry to continue to rank ahead of ship mortgages.8 0
b. Types of Transactions Giving Rise to a Lien. Under the
United States federal maritime law, materialmen's liens arise in
favor of "any person furnishing repairs, supplies, towage, use of dry.
dock or marine railways or other necessaries, to any vessel, whether
foreign or domestic, upon the order of the owner of the vessel or
any other person authorized by the owner .... "1 This language
may be compared with article 2 (5)82 of the 1926 Convention and
736 Stat. 604 (1910) merged into 41 Stat. 1005, § 30 (P) (1920). 46 U.S.C. § 971
(1958). See 46 U.S.C. § 971 quoted in text at note 81 infra. Prior to the Act of 1910,
liens under the federal general maritime law did not attach upon vessels repaired
or furnished in home port. GLM'ORE & BLACK 527-29, 548. In such cases, a supply
or repairman was presumed to intend to deal directly with the owner and was not
extending credit to the vessel. This rule was changed by the Maritime Lien Act of
1910, so that now in the United States a supply or repair lien attaches upon a vessel,
if the requirements of the act are met, regardless of whether in the home port or out-
side thereof. The Little Charley, 31 F.2d 120 (D. Md. 1929). But see The Muskegon,
275 Fed. 348 (2d Cir. 1921); The Princess, 12 Fed. 2d 808 (D.C.N.Y. 1926).
71Liens Cony., art. 2 (5), note 23 supra.
"I See, e.g., The Wang Importer, Cour d'Appel, Rennes, Feb. 6, 1962, [1962] D.M.F.
475, construing art. 191 (6), French Code of Commerce. CtAuVEAu 135.
80 See note 22 supra.
8I Maritime Lien Act of 1910, 36 Stat. 604, as amended, 41 Stat. 1005 (1920), 46

U.S.C. §§ 971-75 (1958). The following items are illustrative of those which have been
deemed to be "supplies . . . or other necessaries" within the meaning of § 971: Jeffrey
v. Henderson Bros., 193 F.2d 589 (4th Cir. 1951) (machinery for dredge barge); Carr
v. George E. Warren Corp., 2 F.2d 333 (4th Cir. 1924) (boiler tubes); The Pinthis,
286 Fed. 122 (3d Cir. 1923) (spare engine parts); The M. V. Contessa, 196 F. Supp.
649 (S.D. Tex. 1961) (cigarettes to a shrimping vessel); The City of Athens, 83 F. Supp.
67 (D. Md. 1949) (liens for advances made for supplies); The Odysseus III, 77 F.
Supp. 297 (S.D. Fla. 1948); The Bavois, 43 F. Supp. 109 (S.D.N.Y. 1942) (liquor sup.
plied to a pleasure yacht); The Reina Victoria, 298 Fed. 765 (S.D.N.Y. 1924) (food and
water); The Fortuna, 213 Fed. 284 (W.D. Wash. 1914) (boots, oil hats, wool blankets,
tobacco).
82 See note 23 supra.
Vol. 1963: 671] SHIP MORTGAGES AND MARITIME LIENS 689
its domestic law equivalents, e.g., article 191 (6) of the French Code
of Commerce.8 3 Under article 2 (5) of the convention, a privilege
arises in favor of "suppliers, repairers and other contractual credi-
tors" for "contracts entered into or transactions carried out by the
master" which "are necessary for the preservation of the vessel or
the continuation of her voyage . . . ." Claims for services such as
repairs, drydock, or towage do not automatically give rise to a lien
or privilege by virtue of their nature. They must be proved to have
been necessary for the preservation of the vessel or continuation of
the voyage, as where, for example, a vessel is repaired subsequent to
a collision.8 4 It has been held that the painting and scraping of a
hull rendered necessary in the course of a voyage gave rise to a
privilege under the convention and article 191 (6) of the French Code
of Commerce.8 5 Similarly, repair of a cargo vessel's refrigeration
equipment where necessary for the transport of perishables was
privileged. 8
Supplies such as fuel oil,87 food and water 8 will be deemed
to have been necessary "for the continuation of the voyage" and
will be privileged. Equipment necessary for navigation of the vessel
will presumably be privileged; however this will be a question of
fact.80 Thus where radiotelephone and radiotelegraph equipment
were furnished to a vessel, the court found that only the former
was required by the navigation law and could be deemed to be
"necessary for the preservation of the vessel." Hence, it was held
that the radiotelephone was privileged, but not the radiotelegraph. 90
'1 See note 50 supra.
8' The Isabella: (St. des Ateliers Terrin v. Marrona et Cie. Orlando Castellano),
Trib. Comm., Marseille, Dec. 17, 1954, [1955] D.M.F. 671.
sr Entreprise Bolconi v. C.A.F.R.I.N.A., Trib. Comm., Marseille, Feb. 5, 1957, [1958]
D.M.F. 103 (gave rise to a privilege in first category under Liens Cony., art. 2 (5), but
in this instance it was barred by six month period of limitations; however, there con-
tinued to exist a privilege in the second category under art. 2102 (3) of the Civil Code.
" The Agadir, Cour d'Appel, Rabat, Morocco, Jan. 5, 1954, [1954] D.M.F. 623.
'7 See, e.g., The Wang Importer, Cour d'Appel, Rennes, Feb. 6, 1962, [1962] D.M.F.,
475; The Berbdre: (ST. Esso Standard v. Me. Castellan et C.A.F.R.I.N.A.), Trib.
Comm., Marseille, Feb. 5, 1957, [1958] D.M.F. 106; The Commodore Grant, Trib. Comm.,
Aix en Provence, Jan. 13, 1954, [1955] D.M.F. 375 (claim for fuel oil was privileged,
but eventually claim was dismissed because time limit had run).
8"The Agadir, Cour d'Appel, Rabat, Morocco, Jan. 5, 1954, [1954] D.M.F. 623.
11 The Berbdre, Cour de Cassation (Ch. civ., sect. comm.), Jan. 31, 1962, [1962] D.M.F.
272.
"0The Berbdre, supra note 89. In Louis Ddsir6: (Cie. Radio Maritime v. Pinta),
Cour de Cassation (Ch. civ., sect. comm.), March 18, 1963, [1963] D.M.F. 396, the pourvoi
of a radio equipment company, which claimed that the rentals of radio equipment
were privileged under the French Code of Commerce, art. 191 (6), was rejected. The
court stated that radio equipment was not essential for the preservation of a coastwise
 DUKE LAW JOURNAL [Vol. 1963: 671

It is clear that if the master or some other person has advanced funds
to the owner for the purchase of necessaries, the person furnishing
the funds will be entitled to a right of preference. 91
c. Charter-Party Clauses. When a vessel has been chartered,
particularly under a bareboat or demise charter, it is very often
provided in charter party agreements drawn up in the United States
that the charterer shall be without any authority to permit maritime
liens to arise upon the vessel. The owner, having given up the con-
trol of the vessel, wishes to avoid being a guarantor of the debts of
the charterer. The Maritime Lien Act of 1910 expressly provides
that a clause absolving the owner and the vessel of responsibility
under such circumstances is valid in the United States if the fur-
nisher of supplies or repairs "knew or by the exercise of reasonable
diligence could have ascertained that, because of the terms of the
charter party ... or for any other reason, the person ordering the
repairs, supplies, or other necessaries was without authority to bind
92
the vessel therefor."
Under the Liens Convention, however, such charter clauses are
probably not valid.9 3 It has been held that French courts may order
arrest of a vessel upon the demand of a supply claimant having a
privilege under the convention, and that the court is not required to
determine upon this application for arrest whether the owner or the
charterer will be ultimately liable.94 Thus a shipowner may be
fishing vessel of less than 500 tons; some emphasis was put on the fact that equipment
.of this sort was not essential on vessels of this size. The lower court had found that
,the claims were privileged under article 191 (6), at least those rentals due in the six
=months prior to bankruptcy. Trib. Comm., Seine, June 24, 1959, [1960] D.M.F. 610. A
-similar claim by suppliers of electronic equipment was rejected in Le Picorre: (Cie.
Radio Maritime v. Muller), Cour de Cassation (Ch. civ., sect. comm.), March 18, 1963,
,11963] D.M.F. 399, aff"g, Cour d'Appel, Rouen, Jan. 17, 1958, [1959] D.M.F. 225. The
,privilege was claimed under art. 2102 (3) of the Civil Code.
Cf., The Handel, Supreme Court of the Netherlands, March 22, 1935, Weekblad
van het Recht, No. 12,949, French translation in 35 REv. DOR 343 (1937) (supplier
of more powerful engine to a vessel not entitled to a privilege, since this is "improve-
ment," not "preservation"). In Holland, which is not a party to the 1926 Convention,
the lien for necessaries is inferior to mortgage. See Netherlands Maritime Law, Com-
mercial
9
Code, bk. II.
1Faux v. Faillite des Etablissements Moyen, [1955] D.M.F. 487.
9246 U.S.C. § 973 (1958). The circumstances under which a supplyman will be
put to inquiry have been the subject of much litigation. See, e.g., First Nat'l Bank &
Trust Co. v. The Seneca, 179 F. Supp. 847 (E.D. La. 1960), afJ'd, 287 F.2d 366 (5th
Cir. 1961); The Hoxie, 291 Fed. 599 (D. Md. 1923); GILMORE & BLAcK 219, 558-68.
93 See Liens Cony. art. 13, note 56 supra. For a comparative treatment of the re-
spective liability of shipowner and bareboat charterer under the laws of various
maritime nations, see Muller, Proprietaire-Armateuret Armateur Exploitant, [1962]
D.M.F. 131. See also 4 RABEL 116 and cases cited note 75 supra.
9"The Commodore Grant, Trib. Comm., Aix en Provence, Jan. 13, 1954, [1955]
Vol. 1963: 671] SHIP MORTGAGES AND MARITIME LIENS 691
forced to put up a bond in order to obtain a vessel's release, even
though the goods or services wereordered by the charterer.
d. Period of Limitation. As earlier noted, the period of limi-
tation under the convention in the case of supply and repair liens
is six months, whereas, in the case of other liens, it is one year.95
Supply and repair liens were singled out for this short period of
limitations in an effort to strike a balance between the competing
interests of mortgagees and supplymen. Indeed, one of the points
upon which there was the greatest disagreement among the delegates
to the various international conventions was whether or not there
should be allowed a lien for supplies, repairs and necessaries. It
was urged by the delegates from Norway, Sweden, Belgium and
Holland that this lien was prejudicial to the interests of bankers and
others who financed the sale and construction of vessels.9 6 It having
been decided to place supply and repair liens in the first category of
liens with priority over mortgages, the six months period of limita-
tions was imposed upon these liens to counterbalance the advantage
of priority. The Commodore Grant case, 97 discussed earlier, has
illustrated the need for prompt enforcement by supplymen if they
can find the vessel.
Another question arising by virtue of the strict limitation period
is what a claimant must do within the six months following the
time when credit was extended in order to prevent extinction of
his lien. The convention provides9 8 that, in the case of the lien
for necessaries and repairs, the limitation period will run from
the date when the obligation attached. Assuming that supplies
were furnished on January 1 and that the invoice provided that
payment must be made within thirty days, it would appear from the
language of the convention that the period of six months would
begin to run on January 1 and not on January 31. While it could
D.M.F. 375. In France, prior to reform law of 1949, no privilege was allowed where a
creditor had dealt with the charterer rather than shipowner. CHAUVE-U 28.
05 Liens Cony., art 9 (1), note 59 supra.
08 PRICE 230.
07 See text accompanying note 63 supra.
08Liens Conv. art. 9 (2): "The period runs for the lien for salvage from the date of
the termination of the services; for the liens for collision, accidents of navigation and
personal injuries from the date when the damage was caused; for the lien for loss of
or damage to cargo or passengers' baggage from the date of delivery or when delivery
ought to have been made; for the lien for necessaries and repairs from the date when
the obligation attached. In all other cases the period runs from the date when the
claim becomes enforceable." The French domestic law equivalent is art. 194, Code of
Commerce.
 DUKE LAW JOURNAL [Vol. 1963: 671

be argued that the period should begin to run on the latter date,
since that was the date when the obligation of payment arose, this
interpretation has been rejected. The French courts at least have
held that the period of limitation should be strictly complied with,
and that a supplyman, by fixing a period of credit, should not be
allowed to extend the time limitation prescribed by law. 9
Assuming that the start of the six month period is measured by
the date "when the obligation attached," what type of action must a
creditor take in order to assert his lien within six months? In a
number of cases where the shipowner was placed in bankruptcy, the
courts have arbitrarily cut off all claims arising prior to six months
from the date of adjudication of bankruptcy. 0 0 Suppose, however,
that a creditor has commenced legal proceedings to enforce his claim
several years before the bankruptcy adjudication but has not re-
covered a judgment. It has been held that it will not be enough
for the creditor merely to have served a summons (citation) upon the
debtor, but he must actually have arrested the vessel. 1 1
Article 9 (5) of the 1926 Convention, which leaves this matter up
to domestic law, provides that "the grounds upon which the above
periods may be interrupted shall be determined by the law of the
court where the case is tried." In France, there is no statute speci-
fying under what circumstances the running of the statutory period
may be interrupted. In the case of EnterpriseBolconi v. C.A.F.R.
LN.A., 0 2 the French court concluded that no period of interruption
having been set forth in the Law of 1949, the legislature must have
"Enterprise Bolconi v. C.A.F.R.IN.A., Trib. Comm., Marseille, Feb. 5, 1957, [1958]
D.M.F. 103.
00E.g., Cie. Maritime v. Pinta, [1960] D.M.F. 610.
"01Enterprise Bolconi v. C.A.F.R.I.N.A., Trib. Comm., Marseille, Feb. 5, 1957,
[1958] D.M.F. 103. In this case the claimant had scraped and painted the hull of a
vessel in December, 1953, and billed defendants a total of 775,811 francs. Suit against
the owners was commenced in June, 1954, but not diligently prosecuted at that time.
The defendant having been adjudicated a bankrupt August 2, 1955, the claimant
intervened in the bankruptcy proceedings and urged that its claim for the painting and
scraping was a privileged lien under art. 191, Code of Commerce. Claimant fur-
ther urged that, having commenced suit within six months of the time when the
obligation arose, his claim was timely within article 194. The court rejected this
contention and noted that although suit had been brought within six months, the
claimant had allowed more than a year to elapse between June, 1954, and August, 1955,
and that the mere service of a summons (citation) in June, 1954, for nonpayment of
the debt was not a manifestation of intention to exercise the maritime privilege but
merely an intention to collect a debt upon the underlying obligation. The court
further noted that art. 2244 of the Civil Code, which states that a "citation en
justice" stops the running of a period of prescription, is not applicable since it merely
reflects an intention to pursue a debt and not to invoke the privilege.
1o2 Ibid.
Vol. 1963:671] SHIP MORTGAGES AND MARITIME LIENS 693
intended to continue the judicial doctrine prevailing under the
pre-1949 law. This rule was that a privilege was deemed to be
extinguished when a vessel had completed a "sea voyage" subsequent
to the "voyage" when the lien arose. Only by arresting the vessel
prior to expiration of the "voyage" or of the time period could a
right of preference be exercised.
Although a lien or maritime privilege under article 2 (5) of
the convention may have been lost, it may still be possible for a
claimant to maintain that his claim constitutes a privilege in the
second category of privileges, ranking below mortgages. In France,
article 2102 (3) of the Civil Code grants a privilege to claims repre-
senting goods or services "necessary for the preservation of the
03
vessel."1
e. Priorities. The broad statement that mortgages under the
convention, and under French law, rank below supply and repair
liens, whereas in the United States the opposite order prevails, is
subject to several qualifications. In France, at least, the courts have
sometimes recognized that supply and repair claims which fail to
meet the requirements for classification as a maritime privilege fall
into the second category of privileges. 04 In the event that such
privilege exists, the claim will rank below mortgages and hypothe-
cations, but will prevail over unsecured claims. 105
The priority of mortgages under the law of the United States
is subject to several conditions. In the case of mortgages on United
States flag vessels, the mortgage must comply with all the formalities
of the Preferred Ship Mortgage Act of 1920.16 Otherwise it is an
"ordinary" mortgage and ranks as an unsecured claim. 07 In the
103 See, e.g., Enterprise Bolconi v. C.A.F.R.I.N.A., Trib. Comm., Marseille, Feb. 5,
1957, [1958] D.M.F. 103 (claims for painting and scraping hull allowed under Civil
Code, art. 2102 (3), after period of limitations on maritime privileges had run); FRvre
v. Gaudet, Cour de Cassation (Ch. dv.), Nov. 3, 1925, 13 Rav. DoR 267 (1926) (re-
pairs). If, however, the claim represents supplies necessary for the "exploitation" of
the vessel as opposed to "preservation," it will not be entitled to a privilege under the
Civil Code. The Berb6re, Trib. Comm., Marseille, Feb. 5, 1957, [1958] D.M.F. 106
(fuel oil).
1-0 By judicial decision, the courts have recognized that these claims may be en-
titled to a nonmaritime privilege under the Civil Code. See CHAUVEAU 136; note 103
supra.
10
5 CHAUVEAU 136. The privileges of the tax and customs authorities likewise rank
below the maritime privileges and hypothecations but prevail over unsecured credi-
tors. Pendelis v. Administration des Douanes, Cour d'Appel, Aix, Dec. 18, 1951, [1952]
D.M.F. 370.
100 41 Stat. 1000 (1920), 46 U.S.C. § 922 (1958). See GILmORE & BLAcK 579-90.
107 1 BENEDICT 162-64 (6th ed. 1940); GILMORE & BLAcK 574.
 DUKE LAW JOURNAL [Vol. 1963: 671

case of mortgages on foreign flag vessels, the mortgagee will take

subject to the liens of United States supply and repairmen, due to
a very parochial clause in the Foreign Ship Mortgage Act of 1954.101
Presumably, the mortgagee of a foreign vessel will prevail over for-
eign supply and repairmen.

6. Liens and Limitation of Liability Proceedings

The drafters of the Liens Convention wished to correlate its
provisions with the Brussels Convention of 1924 on Limitation of
Liability.109 Their objective was to provide a lien for those mari-
time claims for which a shipowner could limit his liability by aban-
doning vessel, freight and accessories. 110 The 1924 Convention, in
effect, adopted the continental system of limitation of liability to
the shipowner's fortune de mer."' In 1957 a new Convention on
Limitation of Liability was drafted which, following the Anglo-
108 After providing that foreign ship mortgages duly executed under foreign law
will be entitled to recognition in the United States as preferred mortgages, the Foreign
Ship Mortgage Act, 68 Stat. 323 (1954), 46 U.S.C. § 951 (1958), concludes with this
proviso: "Provided, however, That such 'preferred mortgage lien' in the case of a
foreign vessel shall also be subordinate to maritime liens for repairs, supplies, towage,
use of drydock or marine railway, or other necessaries, performed or supplied in the
United States." In The Tradewind, 153 F. Supp. 354 (D. Md. 1957), which involved
the sale of a Liberian vessel subject to Liberian preferred mortgage, the order of
priority adopted was : (1) United States supplymen; (2) Liberian preferred mortgage;
(3) foreign supplymen. In Brandon v. S.S. Denton, 302 F.2d 404 (5th Cir. 1962), an
Italian oil bunkering concern, which intervened in a libel in rem proceeding in a
United States court, urged that under the most favoured nation clause in the Treaty
of Friendship and Navigation between Italy and the United States, Italian supplymen
were entitled to as high a priority as American supplymen. Relying upon the clear
language of the proviso in the Foreign Ship Mortgage Act, the court rejected this
contention and held that the claim of a United States mortgagee was entitled to a
priority, thus exhausting the available fund. See Lord & Glenn, The Foreign Ship
Mortgage, 56 YALE L.J. 923 (1947); Comment, 64 YALE L.J. 878, 900-03 (1955).
108International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to the
Limitation of Liability of the Owners of Sea-Going Vessels, Brussels, Aug. 25, 1924,
official text in French, L.N.T.S. No. 2763. For other texts see 6 BENEDICT 394 (English
translation and list of signatories); XXVth CONFERENCE MINUTES 44 (French and
English texts). For a discussion of the convention provisions, see CHAUVEAU 327-34.
Liens Cony., art. 7 provides that when a limitation petition has been filed by a
shipowner, "creditors whose claims are secured by a lien shall have the right to prove
for their claims in full, without any deduction on account of the rules relating to
limitation of liability; provided, however, that the dividend receivable by them shall
not exceed the sum due having regard to the said rules,"
110Compare art. 2, Liens Cony. (liens attach to "vessel, to the freight . . . and
to the accessories') with art. I of 1924 Limitation Cony. ("The liability of the
owner of a seagoing vessel is limited to an amount equal to the value of the vessel,
the freight, and the accessories. .. .'). One of the unresolved problems of American
limitation law is whether or not maritime lien priorities should be observed in the
distribution of a limitation fund. See GILMORE & BLACK 724.
111 CHAUVEAU 327-34.
Vol. 1963: 671] SHIP MORTGAGES AND MARITIME LIENS 695
American system, substitutes a liability fund of a fixed monetary
amount per ton for vessel, freight and accessories. 112 If the 1957
Convention gains widespread adoption, the provisions of the Liens
Convention will clearly be out of date. It has indeed been suggested
that the Liens Convention is ripe for revision. 113
112 Convention on Limitation of the Liability of Owners of Sea-Going Vessels,

Brussels, 1957. For texts see 6 BENEDiar 399 (English text of draft convention); [1957]
D.M.F. 383; Schad~e, Quelques notes marginales a la Convention sur les privil~ges
texts). See also Comment, 68 YALE LJ. 1676 (1959).
Chauveau, Patrimoine ou Fortune de Mer, [1962] D.M.F. 511, notes that the 1957
Convention's provisions are radically different from the domestic law of France and
other civil law countries where the owner has the right to limit his liability by
abandonment of the vessel, freight, and accessories. Under the 1957 Convention, the
owner's other assets are vulnerable, not only the vessel with respect to which the
claim arose.
113Legendre, La Confdrence d'Athines du Comitd Maritime International, [1962]
D.M.F. 383; Schadfe, Quelques notes marginales a la Convention sur les privilages
et hypoth~ques mafitimes, [1959] D.M.F. 252. See also French Maritime Law Associa-
tion, Report on Harmonization of the 1957 Conventions on Limitation of Liability
and 1926 Convention on Maritime Liens and Mortgages, XXVth CONFEIENCE MNUmTS
284.