Preferential rights are granted on the ship, on the freight of the voyage during which the preferential claim arose, on the ship’s accessories and on the freight acquired since the beginning of the voyage:
a) Claims for pledges and other sums due to the master, officers and other shipboard personnel by virtue of their engagement on board the ship, including repatriation expenses and social insurance contributions payable on their behalf;
b) Claims arising from death or personal injury, whether on land or at sea, directly connected with the operation of the ship;
c) Claims for assistance and salvage of the vessel;
d) Claims for port, canal and other waterway dues, as well as pilotage fees;
e) Claims in tort or quasi tort for loss or damage to property caused by the operation of the vessel, other than to cargo, containers and cargo, containers and passengers’ personal effects carried on board the vessel.
f) Legal costs incurred for the sale of the vessel and the distribution of its price;
g) The costs of keeping and preserving the vessel since its entry into the last port, excluding insurance premiums;
h) Claims arising from contracts entered into or operations carried out by the master outside the home port, by virtue of his legal powers for the real needs of preserving the vessel or continuing the voyage;
i) Claims for damage to cargo and luggage caused while on board the vessel.
The liens mentioned in the present article are exercised against the owner, the charterer in devolution, the managing owner or the operator of the ship.
The liens mentioned in f) to i) rank after those mentioned in a) to e); they are extinguished under the conditions laid down in article 6 of the International Convention of 1993 on Maritime Liens and Mortgages.
No maritime lien shall attach to the vessel as security for the claims referred to in paragraphs b) and e) above which arise or result:
– Damage arising from the carriage by sea of hydrocarbons or other hazardous or noxious substances, for which compensation is payable to creditors in application of international conventions or national laws which provide for provide for strict liability and compulsory insurance or other means of other means of guaranteeing creditors; or
– Radioactive properties or a combination of radioactive properties with toxic, explosive or other hazardous properties of nuclear fuel or radioactive products or waste.
The shipbuilder or repairer has a right of retention on the ship, to secure his claims arising from its construction or repair; this right of retention is exercised under the conditions set out in article 7 of the aforementioned 1993 international convention.
The ship and cargo accessories referred to in article 73 are:
1) Indemnities due to the owner for material damage suffered by the ship and not repaired, or for loss of freight.
2) Compensation due to the owner for general average insofar as this constitutes either material damage suffered by the ship and not repaired, or loss of freight;
3) Remuneration due to the owner for assistance rendered or salvage carried out until the end of the voyage, after deduction of sums allocated to the captain and other persons in the service of the ship.
The fare is treated as freight.
Indemnities due to the owner under the terms of the insurance contract, premiums, subsidies or other grants from the State or public authorities.
The maritime privileges listed above rank in the order in which they appear; however, maritime liens guaranteeing claims due for assistance and salvage of the vessel have priority over all other maritime liens encumbering the vessel prior to the completion of the operations giving rise to them.
The preferential claims listed in article 73 of the code are preferential to all mortgages, regardless of their registration rank.
Creditors may also invoke common law privileges, but such privileged claims rank only after mortgages, irrespective of their registration rank.
As an exception to article 73 of the code, the lien provided for the benefit of persons in the service of the vessel relates to all freights due for all voyages made during the course of the same engagement contract.
Claims relating to the same voyage are privileged in the order in which they are classified in article 73.
The claims included in each of the numbers compete with each other and with the marc-le-franc in the event of price insufficiency.
However, the claims referred to in paragraphs a, c and e of article 73 are, in each of these categories, paid by preference in the reverse order of the dates on which they arose.
Claims relating to the same event are deemed to have arisen at the same time.
Preferential claims from each trip are given preference over those from the previous trip. However, claims arising from a single contract covering several trips several trips all rank equally with the claims of the last of these trips.
The privileges provided for in article 73 follow the vessel wherever it goes.
Liens are extinguished on expiry of the one-year period for all claims other than claims for supplies; in the latter case, the period is reduced to 6 months.
Independently of the general methods of extinguishing obligations, liens are extinguished:
1) By confiscation of the vessel for infringement of customs, police or security laws;
2) By judicial sale of the vessel;
3) In the event of voluntary transfer, no later than two months after publication of the transfer deed.
The lien on freight may be exercised as long as the freight is still due or the freight amount is in the hands of the master or the owner’s agent. The same applies to liens on freight accessories.
The provisions of articles 73 to 85 of the code apply to ships operated either by the owner or by a non-owner shipowner or by a principal charterer, except where the owner has been divested by an unlawful act and, in addition, the creditor is not acting in good faith.
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