Admiralty Jurisdiction and Practice
| Admiralty Jurisdiction and Practice, 6th Edition, (c) 2025 |
Page 351
CHAPTER 10
Ship mortgages
Introduction
Ownership
10.1 Ships are chattels. Therefore issues relating to their ownership are decided according to the principles applicable under the English law of personal property, in particular the provisions as to passing of property and conveying of title contained in the Sale of Goods Act 1979. There is one respect in which the law applicable to the ownership of ships differs from other chattels: as a general rule title to a ship will not pass by delivery, nor will it be proven by possession. The classic statement of this proposition is to be found in the judgment of Turner LJ in Hooper v Gumm
1 where he said2: