Maritime liens

The costs for maintenance and watching of the vessel in the last port of call are vested with maritime lien. However, not all such expenses are eligible to enjoy a maritime lien, as the latter is confined to the maintenance and watching of a vessel due for auction. Possible such costs incurred at a stage prior to the vessel’s seizure, are not vested with maritime lien. So, for a vessel lying at a port for some time and seized at some later point of time, not all watching and maintenance costs are privileged. Only the ones incurred following seizure and regarding the vessel’s auction are vested with maritime lien.
Supreme Court Judgment no 1556/2017, Presiding: V. Peppas, Rapporteur Judge: V. Peppas, Attorneys at law: G.M. Ahouzaridis, G. Foskolos, Maritime Law Review vol. 45, p. 336.
NOTE: The rational behind the above, is that in view of an auction, it should be possible to find watchmen and shiprepairers who should be confident they will receive payment for services which tend to protect the value of the vessel and thus benefit owners and creditors.