ABSTRACT
It has been said that the ship mortgage until 1854 involved a property transfer mortgage. In English Law, the ship's mortgage originated from the common law and not from the lex mercatoria or lex maritime. Mortgages in United States federal law are closely linked to maritime liens and it is possible for a mortgage to be elevated to the status of a maritime lien. The Ship Mortgage Act 1920 provides for a "preferred ship mortgage" which gives rise to a maritime lien against the mortgaged vessel. The Maltese Merchant Shipping Act provides for the right of taking possession "in the event of default of any term or condition of a registered mortgage or of any document or agreement referred to therein". The droit de suite attributable to legal mortgages distinguishes mortgages from a number of other statutory rights in rem listed in section 20(2) of the Supreme Court Act 1981.
