SWEDEN Law and Practice Contributed by: Michele Fara, Ninos Aho, Paula Bäckdén and Anders Leissner, Advokatfirman Vinge KB
1.7 Ship Ownership and Mortgages Registry Transcripts of the registration of a vessel, including any registered mortgages, are available to the public from the Maritime Registry by request to the authority.
• entirely caused by an act or omission by a third party with intent to cause damage; or • caused by negligence of a public authority in con - nection with the maintenance of lights or other navigational aids. The law also includes provisions on limitation of lia - bility, establishment of a limitation fund, compulsory insurance and direct action against the registered owner. In addition, the Swedish Transport Agency has issued Ordinance TSFS 2023:14, which contains detailed rules and recommendations on the discharge of oil and other pollutants from vessels. Wreck Removal Sweden has ratified the 2007 Nairobi International Convention on the Removal of Wrecks. Chapter 11a of the Swedish Maritime Code incorporates the con - vention’s provisions. As a main rule, the ship-owner is required to remove a wreck that poses a danger to navigation or to the environment. Further, lost cargo must always be reported, regardless of whether it pos - es a danger to navigation or not. As for larger ships, the ship-owner is also obliged to have liability insur - ance in place, or to provide other adequate security to cover their liability. The provisions apply to all Swedish territorial waters, including lakes and canals. There is no mechanism for the establishment of a separate wreck fund. 3.2 International Conventions: Collision and Salvage Chapter 8 of the Swedish Maritime Code contains provisions on collision liabilities. The provisions are based on the 1910 Brussels Collisions Convention and are complemented by the general rules on ship- owners’ liability in Chapter 7 of the Swedish Maritime Code (1994:1009), as well as general tort law. The main rule regarding collision liability is contribution in proportion to the level of causation. A party involved in a collision is liable for losses only to the extent the party caused the collision. Each party answers for half of the loss, unless there are circumstances that give support for any other distribution of liability. There are, however, some exceptions to this rule. If the collision is due to an accident, or if it cannot be determined
2. Ship Finance and Leasing 2.1 Ship Loan Finance
Due to the liability resting with the ship-owner, Swed - ish banks are generally hesitant with respect to the leasing of vessels, as well as sale and lease-back transactions. Traditional mortgages thus remain the preferred security for financing vessels, often with additional security in the vessel’s contracts and earn - ings. 2.2 Ship Leasing As per 2026, the Swedish Ships’ Registry is open to bareboat registration, which is expected to facilitate the leasing of vessels ( skeppslega ). While defaulting payments under a mortgage can be recovered through a judicial sale, the security for the lessor under a leas - ing arrangement is that the vessel can be retrieved. Sweden has not yet signed or ratified the UN Con - vention on the International Effects of Judicial Sales of Ships. 3. Marine Casualties and Owners’ Liability 3.1 International Conventions: Pollution and Wreck Removal Pollution The 1969 International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage, as amended in 1992, and the 2001 International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage, are incorporated in Chapters 10 and 10a of the Swedish Maritime Code (1994:1009), respectively. Registered owners are, with some exceptions, strictly liable for damage or loss caused by oil pollution and bunker oil pollution. The ship-owner is exempt from liability if it can prove that the damage was: • caused by an act of war or a similar action;
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