102 STAT. 4744 State and local governments.
PUBLIC LAW 100-710—NOV. 23, 1988
"(d)(1) A mortgage or instrument representing financing of a vessel Under State law that is made under applicable State law covering the whole of a vessel titled in a State is deemed to be a preferred mortgage if— "(A) the Secretary certifies that the State titling system complies with the Secretary's guidelines for a titling system under section 13106(b)(8) of this title; and "(B) information on the vessel covered by the mortgage or instrument is made available to the Secretary under chapter 125 of this title. "(2) This subsection applies to mortgages or instruments covering vessels titled in a State after— "(A) the Secretary's certification under paragraph (I)(A) of this subsection; and "(B) the State begins making information available to the Secretary under chapter 125 of this title. "(3) A preferred mortgage under this subsection continues to be a preferred mortgage if the vessel is no longer titled in the State where the mortgage was made. "(e) If a vessel is already covered by a preferred mortgage when an application for titling or documentation is filed— "(1) the validity of the preferred mortgage covering the vessel to be titled in the State is determined by the law of the jurisdiction where the vessel is currently titled or documented; and "(2) the validity of the preferred mortgage covering the vessel to be documented under chapter 121 is determined by subsection (a) of this section. "§31323. Disclosing and incurring obligations before executing preferred mortgages "(a) On request of the mortgagee and before executing a preferred mortgage, the mortgagor shall disclose in writing to the mortgagee the existence of any obligation known to the mortgagor on the vessel to be mortggiged. "(b) After executing a preferred mortgage and before the mortgagee has had a reasonable time to file the mortgage, the mortgagor may not incur, without the consent of the mortgagee, any contractual obligation establishing a lien on the vessel except a lien for— "(1) wages of a stevedore when employed directly by a person listed in section 31341 of this title; "(2) wages for the crew of the vessel; "(3) general average; or "(4) salvage, including contract salvage. "(c) On conviction of a mortgagor under section 31330(a)(l)(A) or (B) of this title for violating this section, the mortgage indebtedness, at the option of the mortgagee, is payable immediately.
- § 31324. Retention and examination of mortgages of vessels covered by preferred mortgages
"(a) On request, the owner, master, or individual in charge of a vessel covered by a preferred mortgage shall permit a person to examine the mortgage if the person has business with the vessel that may give rise to a maritime lien or the sale, conveyance, mortgage, or assignment of a mortgage of the vessel.
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