Maritime Liens

Maritime liens fall under the broader topic of admiralty law. To understand the topic of maritime liens (as per English Law) a brief discussion about the background must be undertaken. Note also that this topic touches on issues of ship arrest, in rem claims and applicable jurisdictions – this particular article will attempt to avoid going into too much legal details regarding these issues.

Supreme Court Act 1981 (SCA)

The Supreme Court Act 1981 (SCA 1981) essentially encompasses the functions of the old UK Admiralty Courts (along with other legal arms previously separate). The act itself lists a series of maritime claims that it covers. These claims as put forward under the SCA 1981 are referred to as statutory liens. Maritime liens are a subset of these statutory liens. As put forward under SCA 1981 Section 20(2), the liens are as follows:

SCA 1981 s20(2)(a)	Ownership

SCA 1981 s20(2)(b)	Possession, employment & earnings of a ship

SCA 1981 s20(2)(c)	Mortgage or charge or shares on a ship

SCA 1981 s20(2)(d)	Damage received by a ship

SCA 1981 s20(2)(e)	Damage done by a ship

SCA 1981 s20(2)(f)	Loss of life & personal injury

SCA 1981 s20(2)(g)	Loss or damage to goods carried on a ship

SCA 1981 s20(2)(h)	Carriage of goods or use or hire, B/L’s

SCA 1981 s20(2)(j)	Salvage

SCA 1981 s20(2)(k)	Towage

SCA 1981 s20(2)(l)	Pilotage

SCA 1981 s20(2)(m)	Materials for operations & maintenance

SCA 1981 s20(2)(n)	Construction, repair, equipment or drydocking

SCA 1981 s20(2)(o)	Crew's Wages

SCA 1981 s20(2)(p)	Master’s Wages & disbursements

SCA 1981 s20(2)(q)	General Average

SCA 1981 s20(2)(r)	Bottomry

SCA 1981 s20(2)(n)	Droits, forfeiture and seizure

Claims that fall under sub-sections (d), (e), (f), (j) (o), (p) and (r) attach maritime liens. Difference between maritime and statutory liens Maritime liens can only be pursued via in rem proceedings. They attach themselves to a vessel upon the creation of the claim. It is at this point that they differentiate themselves from the other types of claims listed under SCA 1981.

As they attach at the point of creation of the claim (for eg: a collision at sea), they do not separate from the vessel until the claim is settled. Thus, the sale of the vessel, change of name or even breaking will not destroy the lien created. A further differentiating point from a statutory lien is that no writ has to be served for the lien to be created. By being a truly in rem type of claim, they allow for the arrest of the suspect vessel (or its sister ship).

Status during awards

When a case is tried and the courts have ruled on it, the award is shared based on the priority of the claims. The list below shows the priority of the awards, with the highest at the top of the list.

1.	Port Authority (if this was not settled before the vessel sale, it ranks above all else)

2.	Shipyard Costs (providing the vessel is not released

3.	Admiralty Marshall costs

4.	Main Claimant’s costs (his maritime liens)

5.	Other maritime liens as per SCA 1981 s20

6.	The mortgagee

7.	Statutory claims as per SCA 1981 s20

It should be noted that there are further priorities considered when more than one maritime liens is being considered.