SWEDEN Law and Practice Contributed by: Michele Fara, Ninos Aho, Paula Bäckdén and Anders Leissner, Advokatfirman Vinge KB
Advokatfirman Vinge KB Nordstadstorget 6 PO Box 11025 404 21 Göteborg Sweden
Tel: +46 106 141 000 Email: info@vinge.se Web: www.vinge.se
1. Maritime and Shipping Legislation and Regulation 1.1 Domestic Laws Establishing the Authorities of the Maritime and Shipping Courts The Swedish Maritime Code (1994:1009) establishes seven maritime courts in Sweden whose internal juris - diction is purely geographical. The maritime courts are exclusively competent in respect of matters governed by the Maritime Code, such as cargo claims, charter - party disputes, liability funds and limitation of liability. Disputes under marine insurance contracts are sub - ject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Swedish Dis - pascheur. 1.2 Port State Control Sweden is bound by the EU Port State Control Direc - tive (2009/16/EC) and is party to the Paris Memoran - dum of Understanding on Port State Control. Port state control is carried out by the Swedish Maritime Administration, which is also the authority to which marine casualties are to be reported. If a crime is sus - pected to have been committed, casualty is investi - gated by the marine prosecutor in co-operation with the Coast Guard and/or the marine police. 1.3 Domestic Legislation Applicable to Ship Registration The registration and nationality of vessels is gov - erned by Chapter 1 of the Swedish Maritime Code (1994:1009). The practical aspects of registration are governed by the Ordinance on Vessel Registration (1975:927).
1.4 Requirements for Ownership of Vessels A vessel of which more than 50% is owned by Swed - ish citizen(s) or company/companies is considered Swedish and must be registered in the Maritime Reg - istry. The vessel can be considered non-Swedish, and thus not subject to registration, if it is registered in an official registry of another EU or European Economic Area (EEA) state and is part of a business established in that state, and if the vessel is directed and con - trolled therefrom. Separate rules apply to vessels not used in a business. A vessel under construction can be registered. 1.5 Temporary Registration of Vessels A vessel can be temporarily registered for up to one month if registration in Sweden is a condition for dele - tion in the vessel’s current registry. From February 2026, registration based on bareboat c/p is permitted, both for Swedish vessels being registered in a for - eign registry and for foreign vessels being registered in Sweden. A condition for the latter is that the operation of the vessel is under “decisive Swedish influence”. 1.6 Registration of Mortgages Vessels are registered with the Maritime Registry, held by the Swedish Transport Authority. Mortgages can be granted over a registered vessel by the ship-owner by handing over the deed of mortgage issued by the same authority to the lender in exchange for a loan. Such mortgage may be registered with the Maritime Registry but registration is not a precondition for the mortgage to be effected.
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