ANGOLA Law and Practice Contributed by: José Miguel Oliveira, Sara Alves Lourenço, Caio de Mello Ferreira and João Saiago Canjeque, VdA
tion and certification by the NMA is conducted and cleared, and compliance with age limitations is verified. The registration of ships in Angola is a two-tiered system, involving a flag registration with the port and maritime authorities (ie, the NMA and the port authority) and a commercial registration with the Commercial Registry. 1.4 Requirements for Ownership of Vessels The Merchant Navy Law provides that the reg - istration of ships in Angola may be obtained by any natural or legal persons that have their permanent domicile or head office in the coun - try. Under conditions of reciprocity with other countries, natural or legal persons domiciled or having their head offices abroad may also apply for registration of their ships in Angola, provided that they have a local representative in the country. However, the registration of ships engaged in specific activities (eg, cabotage) may be subject to more stringent requirements. Ves - sels under construction may also be registered, even though their registration will remain pro - visional until completion of the relevant works and carrying out of the applicable inspections and clearances. 1.5 Temporary Registration of Vessels Article 35 of the Merchant Navy Law provides that temporary registration of a vessel is allowed for Angolan ship-owners who have a bareboat charter in a foreign vessel. Based on this stat - ute, dual registration is (theoretically) possible for vessels under a bareboat charter and for the
interests (including mortgages) in respect of, or related to, vessels sailing under the Angolan flag is subject to mandatory registration with the Commercial Registry and the Central Security Registry. On the basis of the foregoing, mortgages over vessels registered (or to be registered) in Angola and sailing (or to be sailing) under the Angolan flag must always be governed by the laws of Angola and registered in Angola as a condition of their effectiveness and enforceability against third parties ( erga omnes ). Notary Deeds Prior to – and as a condition for – registration, mortgages encumbering Angolan vessels must be executed by means of a notary deed before a local notary public or a consular office. The documents required for the execution of the notary deed include: • a commercial registry certificate or equivalent document of the borrower; • a power of attorney issued to the benefit of the representative(s) of the lender attending and signing the notary deed, on the assump - tion that the lender is not going to be rep - resented by any of its legal representatives/ directors; • a power of attorney issued to the benefit of the representative(s) of the borrower attend - ing and signing the notary deed, on the assumption that the borrower is not going to be represented at the notary deed by any of its legal representatives/directors; • identification documents of the representa - tives of the parties signing the notary deed; • certified copies of the loan agreements and/ or resolution issued by the relevant corporate body of the lender approving the loans and the underlying terms and conditions of the
duration of the relevant charterparty. 1.6 Registration of Mortgages
The creation of rights in rem (including posses - sion, ownership and security) or of any security
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