3.1 Introduction

3.1.1 The historical introduction in Chapter 1 has touched upon the nature of a ship mortgage under English law, noting that there has been uncertainty on the legal classification of a statutory mortgage but firmly concluding that it is a sui generis form of statutory charge by way of legal mortgage.1 Chapter 2 has addressed the ownership and registration of ships and has also touched upon issues relating to registered and unregistered mortgages of registered ships which are further addressed below in this chapter.2 The nature of a ship mortgage was commented on as follows by Roskill J in Fletcher and Campbell v City Marine Finance Ltd:3