MOZAMBIQUE Law and Practice Contributed by: José Miguel Oliveira, Kenny Laisse and Caio de Mello Ferreira, VdA
5.2 Maritime Liens Maritime liens are recognised in Article 578 of the 1888 Commercial Code, which specifies the follow - ing categories of claims: (1) court costs incurred in the common interest of the creditors; (2) remuneration for salvage; (3) pilotage and towage expenses; (4) tonnage, lights, anchorage, public health and other harbour dues; (5) expenses incurred in connection with a vessel’s maintenance and storage of her appurtenances; (6) Master and crew wages; (7) costs incurred in connection with the operation and repair of the vessel, her appurtenances and equip - ment; (8) reimbursement of the price of the cargo that the Master was forced to sell; (9) insurance premiums; (10) any unpaid portion of the price due in connection with the purchase of a vessel; (11) costs incurred in connection with the repair of the vessel, her appurtenances and equipment accruing during the past three years; (12) unpaid amounts arising from shipbuilding con - tracts; (13) outstanding insurance premiums over the vessel, if insurance coverage was taken in total, or over the covered part of her appurtenances not mentioned in (11); and (14) sums due to shippers in respect of loss or dam - age to cargo.
Liens mentioned in (1) to (9) above are understood to refer to those incurred during, and as a cause of, the last voyage. The term “last voyage” has been interpreted by legal authors and courts in two ways. • Under a restrictive interpretation, only claims that arise during and become due in connection with the last voyage benefit from the maritime lien. Ear - lier claims are treated as ordinary debts, with the burden of proof resting on the creditor. • Under a broader interpretation, the privilege applies to all claims listed under Article 578, regardless of the voyage during which they arose. In this view, the reference to the last voyage serves only to rank the privileged claims, with priority given to the most recent. Claims for indemnities for personal injury of a member of the crew or of a passenger would not be recognised as a maritime lien or a maritime claim. Liabilities resulting from contracts for chartering a ves - sel will not provide grounds for a maritime claim. Maritime claims are those set forth in Article 1 (1) of the Brussels Convention (in respect of which, a vessel may be arrested under the terms of the Convention). 5.3 Liability in Personam for Owners or Demise Charterers It is not required for the owner to be liable in persona for arrest of a vessel to be accepted. Pursuant to Arti - cle 3 (4) of the Brussels Convention, if the charterer (and not the registered owner) is liable in respect of a maritime claim relating to a vessel, in the context of a charter by demise, the claimant may arrest such vessel or any other in the ownership of the charterer by demise, even though no other vessel in the owner - ship of the registered owner shall be liable to arrest in respect of such maritime claim. The above-mentioned regime shall apply to any case in which a person other than the registered owner is liable in respect of a mari - time claim relating to that vessel.
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