Maritime/Admiralty Law

Malta’s role as a maritime hub throughout the years has made it an attractive jurisdiction for the shipping industry. Moreover, it’s shipping registry, which has secured a sterling reputation since its inception, ranks amongst the world’s top 10, is on the Paris MOU white-list, and continues to attract more and more tonnage yearly. As a flag State, Malta has adhered to nearly all the necessary international conventions and as an EU member, continues to apply and enforce the applicable EU maritime laws. We can assist whether it comes to issues of ship registration, be it registration of vessels under the Maltese flag or the registration of ships under flags of other jurisdictions.

Maritime law is the body of laws, conventions, and treaties that govern nautical matters, from navigation to shipping and other maritime commerce, as well offences occurring at sea. The private law aspect concerns shipping – carriage of goods and persons by sea, sale and purchase of vessels, ship finance, leases and charterparties, liability for maritime claims, etc… The ‘dry’ area of this branch of law includes advice on charter-parties, insurance policies, shipbuilding, repair and conversion contracts, ship finance eg. loans, mortgages etc., ship sale & purchase and disputes arising from agreements.. Conversely, the ‘wet’ work includes advising on rights and liabilities, and disputes arising from casualties, ship arrests, marine pollution, salvage, and accidents.

The public law aspect governing the use of the oceans and seas, especially with regard to mutual rights and obligations of sovereign States under international law, and is known as the ‘law of the sea’.

The main legal regime governing maritime matters in Malta is the Merchant Shipping Act and the regulations made thereunder, which mainly implement the substance of the international conventions to which Malta is a party. Malta’s shipping registry is handled by Transport Malta (Maritime), which consists of the Ports and Yachting Directorate and the Shipping Directorate.

Lexvirtualis™ provides advice to ship-owners, managers of ships, charterers and other professionals engaged in shipping and related business. We can assist whether it comes to issues of ship registration, be it registration of vessels under the Maltese flag or the registration of ships under flags of other jurisdictions. We can also assist with marine litigation – in order to resolve disputes arising from maritime activity.

Our services include:

- General legal advice on maritime law

- Registration of ships and yachts

- Sale and Purchase of vessels, as well as importation.

- Chartering (including bareboat charter registrations)

- Leasing (including VAT)

- Ship finance – eg. assistance with obtaining financing, registration and discharge of mortgages, security documentation

- Formation and incorporation of shipping companies

- Tax planning, structuring and advice related thereto

- Carriage of goods and passengers by sea

- Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims

- Ship arrest and detention

- Port regulation

- Regulation and compliance

- Marine environmental matters

- Maritime security and Suppression of Unlawful Acts (SUA)

- Marine litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution