Belize Shipping Legislation

The Registration of Merchant Shipping Act (the "Act"), which set up the Belize open ship registry, the International Merchant Shipping Registry of Belize (IMMARBE), was adopted in 1989. In 1991 the Registration of Merchant Shipping (Registration and Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations (the "Regulations") was passed to complement the Act; and in 1996, the Act was amended by the Registration of Merchant Shipping (Amendment) Act, which intended to correct certain misnomers that showed in the Act in relation with the Regulations.

As the registry grew it was decided to upgrade the Act and the Regulations by a new single code of laws, and as a result of this, the Merchant Shipping (Registration) Act 2010 was approved on 23 October 2010 (the "New Act").

The New Act is comprised of twelve Parts and 115 provisions and is adopted in concurrence with the Athens Conventions 1973 and Protocols, and the Salvage Convention 1989.

New provisions are included in the New Act, which can be summarised as follows:

1. Mortgages:

   The New Act introduces a new statutory mortgage, i.e. a standard mortgage form, so that by completing and notarising the form and attaching thereto the loan agreement, deed of covenant or other document of obligation and filing such form at IMMARBE the mortgage is recorded; albeit, retaining the allowance for parties to file a mortgage in any other form containing the minimum requirements of Belizean law (name of the parties, particulars of the ship, value of the obligation, interest rate and repayment dates).

   Other attractive features of mortgage under the New Act are i) that it can be executed in favour of a security trustee; ii) that it might be subject to "priority notices", allowing registered mortgages to swap priorities subject to agreement between two or more recorded mortgagees; iii) that it can apply to vessels under construction (clear provisions as to the definition and the registration procedures of vessels under construction are also made under the New Act to facilitate such registrations); iv) a procedure for the foreclosure of the mortgage is provided in that the mortgagee may sell the vessel by court order either in Belize or in the jurisdiction where the vessel is located, by following the procedures of either of such jurisdictions; however, provisions is made in the New Act so that the priorities of maritime liens be followed according to Belize law (as determined under the New Act); v) the registered mortgage will not...