Material Security for Maritime Claims in Interwar Poland

Abstract

The costs related to the construction, purchase, repairs or operation of a sea-going vessel, in particular expenses associated with port fees, fuel, crew and its maintenance during the voyage, were very high and therefore ship owners took out loans secured against their vessel or its cargo to finance the intended operations. Undoubtedly, the development of maritime transport at the turn of 20^th century contributed to international unification of maritime law in respect of privileged claims on ships and maritime mortgage. The need for unification of regulations resulted from the necessity to provide creditors with real satisfaction of their claims, because the diversity of local regulations, especially the number of maritime liens created under different legal systems and the hierarchy of their application limited the importance of maritime mortgage. The content of international regulations became the basis for the development of Polish regulations concerning physical collaterals for maritime claims in the era of the Polish People’s Republic. It should be added that the maritime law of the interwar period is barely touched on in the available literature on the subject, so this study contributes to the subject of maritime claims.