MOZAMBIQUE Law and Practice Contributed by: José Miguel Oliveira, Sara Alves Lourenço, Kenny Laisse and Caio de Mello Ferreira, VdA
1.6 Registration of Mortgages The creation of rights in rem (including posses - sion, ownership and security) or of any security interests (including mortgages) in respect of, or related to, vessels sailing under the Mozambican flag is subject to mandatory registration with the CREL and the Central Registration Office for Securities Guarantees. On the basis of the foregoing, mortgages over vessels registered (or to be registered) in Mozam - bique and sailing (or to be sailing) the Mozam - bican flag must always be governed by the laws of Mozambique and registered in Mozambique as a condition of their effectiveness and enforce - ability against third parties ( erga omnes ). Notary Deeds Prior to – and as a condition for – registration, mortgages encumbering Mozambican 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 mortgage, notably the amount of principal plus the amount equivalent to five years of interest; • a copy of the minutes of the resolution passed by the relevant corporate body of the borrower approving the granting of the mortgages to the benefit of the lender and the underlying terms and conditions, notably the amount of the principal plus the amount cor - responding to five years of interest; and • certificates of ownership of the vessels issued by INAMAR and the CREL. All documents executed or issued outside Mozambique must have previously been legal - ised before the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (or equivalent), translated into Portuguese and then consularised before the Mozambican consulate with jurisdiction over the country where the documents were issued, as a precondition for being deemed valid, acceptable and enforceable in Mozambique. The Central Registration Office for Securities Guarantees Once executed, the notary deed must be regis - tered with the CREL and the Central Registration Office for Securities Guarantees. In this respect, the following must be stressed. • Registration with the CREL is a condition precedent for the effectiveness of mortgages; in other words, pending said registration, mortgages remain ineffective for all legal purposes. • Mortgages registered with the CREL remain valid and enforceable for an indefinite period of time, unless:
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