Shipping 2026

CHILE Law and Practice Contributed by: Ricardo Rozas, Max Morgan and Stefano Perretta, JJR Abogados

• credits in respect of insurance premiums concern - ing the vessel, be they hull, machinery or third- party liability. The privileged credits of Article 844 enjoy privilege over the vessel in the order enumerated in Article 844, with preference over mortgage credits and the privileged credits of Article 846. Mortgage credits are preferred to those of Article 846, which in turn follow the rank indicated under Article 846. In this respect, it is worth noting that the privileged credits established by the aforementioned provisions have preference and exclude all other general or spe - cific privileges regulated by other legal bodies, when referring to the same goods and rights. However, the rules regarding priorities and privileges in matters of pollution or for avoiding damages from spills of hazard - ous substances – which are established in international treaties in force in Chile and in the Navigation Law – have preference over the provisions of Book III, Title III of the Code of Commerce, About Privileges and Naval Mortgage, in the specific matters to which they refer. 5.2 Maritime Liens See 5.1 Ship Arrests . 5.3 Liability in Personam for Owners or Demise Charterers The Chilean system does not contemplate in rem actions. However, it is worth noting that the maritime privileges also confer upon the creditor the right to pur - sue the vessel in whosoever’s possession she may be. In addition, the lien on the ship granted by a privileged credit can be exercised not only against the actual ship to which the privileged credit relates, but also against a ship in the same ownership or a ship in the same administration or operated by the same person. In this respect, according to Article 882 of the Code of Commerce, the ship-owner ( armador ) is the “per - son or corporation, whether or not the proprietor of the vessel, who trades or dispatches it under their name”. The same article defines the operator as “the person who is not the owner but who executes trans - port and other vessel exploitation contracts according to a power of attorney granted by the former, assum - ing liability therefrom” (under Chilean law, a bareboat

charterer has the status of a ship-owner, with the same rights and obligations). On the other hand, the concepts of ship administra - tion or management are not expressly defined in the Code of Commerce. 5.4 Unpaid Bunkers As pointed out in 5.1 Ship Arrests , Chilean maritime privileges include those arising from credits in respect of supply of products or materials that are indispensa - ble for the trading or conservation of the vessel, which includes the supply of bunkers. For these purposes, Chilean law does not distinguish between contrac - tual or actual suppliers. It does not matter whether the bunkers were supplied to a chartered vessel and whether the bunkers were ordered by the charterer and not by the owner. 5.5 Arresting a Vessel Under Chilean law, the general rule is that either indi - viduals or corporations are required to be represented by a counsel when arresting a vessel, which means granting a power of attorney (POA) with judicial facul - ties. The POA must follow Chilean law and practice, and the quickest way to produce it is via the local ship agent assisting the vessel at the pertinent Chilean port (they are entitled to do so on behalf of the owner). Regarding security, if the court considers that the sup - porting documents provided by the arrest petitioner are not sufficient, or the petitioner states that they are not yet available to them, the court may require that coun - tersecurity be provided for the potential damages that may result if, subsequently, it is found that the petition lacked basis. As to the form and amount of damages, there are no specific rules, so this is up to the court. 5.6 Arresting Bunkers and Freight There are no specific regulations for arresting bun - kers and freight in Chile. This could be achieved by means of the general rules set forth by the Code of Civil Procedure regarding pre-judicial and precaution - ary measures, but is not an easy exercise owing to formalities and timing restrictions.

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