MOZAMBIQUE Law and Practice Contributed by: José Miguel Oliveira, Kenny Laisse and Caio de Mello Ferreira, VdA
2. Ship Finance and Leasing 2.1 Ship Loan Finance
• submission of the relevant supporting documents, including a certified copy of the notary deed. In addition to this, constitutional documents (reads, commercial extracts or equivalent documents) of both the mortgagor and mortgagee are usually required by the registrar, although such disclosure is not legally grounded. Registrations before the CREL and the CRGM may be requested by a legal representative or duly appointed attorney of the mortgagor or the mortgagee, within 90 days of the execution of the notary deed. Failure to file the relevant application within that period may lead to the application of fines, although such fines do not undermine the validity of the registration. In this respect, it is worth mentioning that the law sets forth the possibility of securing a provisional regis - tration of a mortgage over a vessel before execution of the notary deed. To that end, the mortgagor must file an application with the CREL authorising registra - tion of a mortgage over a given ship in favour of the mortgagee. This (provisional) registration is valid for a term of three months, which is renewable. The prior - ity of the prospective mortgage over other security interests, once the definitive mortgage is created, is ensured by provisional registration, which protects a mortgagee against concurrent mortgagees and allows the execution of a mortgage without the pressure of priority being given in the register to another mort - gage, even where created later on. Upon registration with the CREL, the mortgages must be endorsed in the passports of the vessel(s) (reads, ownership certificate issued by INAMAR). Such endorsement is made for publicity purposes – ie, it is not a condition of the effectiveness/validity of the underlying mortgage or of its enforcement. 1.7 Ship Ownership and Mortgages Registry The registration of ownership and mortgage of a ves - sel are available for public perusal. The registration can be seen through the content of the certificates issued by the CREL and the CRGM, at the request of any interested party.
Mozambique’s ship finance market is relatively limited, and the few transactions that do occur are typically cross-border bank loans governed by foreign law and aligned with international market standards. The local nexus arises at the level of the Mozambican-law ship mortgage and the related publicity and registration requirements (including for forex purposes). The crea - tion of security interests over Mozambique-flagged vessels is mandatorily governed by Mozambican law and requires execution of a notarial deed, followed by registration with the CREL and the CRGM, with prior - ity determined by the order of registration. In addi - tion to mortgages, lenders may rely on Mozambique’s movable guarantees regime, under which the CRGM centralises information and publicity concerning mov - able security, including ships and receivables. This regime allows for alignment with international practice regarding ancillary security, such as receivables and assignments, where appropriate. 2.2 Ship Leasing Given the still‑nascent market, there is no clear shift towards leasing in Mozambique. Deals are few and tend to follow traditional bank lending models secured by Mozambican‑law mortgages for local effectiveness and priority. 3. Marine Casualties and Owners’ Liability 3.1 International Conventions: Pollution and Wreck Removal The following international conventions and domestic laws are enforceable in Mozambique. Pollution • The 1973 International Convention for the Preven - tion of Pollution from Ships, and Annexes I/II, III, IV and V. • The 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. • The 1985 Convention for the Protection, Manage - ment and Development of the Marine and Coastal Environment of the Eastern African Region.
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