Chapter I Ships

The term "ship" as used in this Part (excluding Article 747) means a ship that is used in a voyage at sea for the purpose of conducting a commercial transaction (excluding a ship's tender or a boat steered solely or mainly using oars or paddles).

①The objects entered in a ship's inventory of equipment are presumed to be accessories of the ship.

②The form of a ship's inventory of equipment is specified by Order of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

①A shipowner must register their ship and obtain a certificate of the vessel's nationality pursuant to the provisions of the Ship Act (Act No. 46 of 1899).

②The provisions of the preceding paragraph do not apply to a ship with a gross tonnage of less than 20 tons.

The transfer of ownership of a ship may not be asserted against a third party unless it is registered and entered in the certificate of the vessel's nationality.

If a ship is transferred while it is at sea, profits and losses arising from the voyage are attributed to the transferee.

It is not permissible to carry out a seizure or provisional seizure (other than a provisional seizure by means of registration) of a ship that is at sea (excluding a ship that is at anchor).

A shipowner is liable to compensate for loss or damage that the mariners of the ship, including the master, cause to others intentionally or negligently in the course of performing their duties.

If a ship owned by a membership company would lose Japanese nationality due to the transfer of the share of a member in charge of executing its business, another member in charge of executing its business may demand that the member in question sell that share to the other member at a reasonable price.

The particulars of the use of a ship are determined among the part owners of the ship by majority, in accordance with the value of the part owners' shares.

The part owners of a ship must bear the costs for the use of the ship in proportion to the value of their shares.

①When the part owners of a ship make a decision on the following matters, a part owner objecting to the decision may demand that the other part owners buy out the objecting part owner's share at a reasonable price:

②A part owner of a ship seeking to make a demand under the provisions of the preceding paragraph must issue notice of this to the other part owners or the ship's manager within three days from the date of the decision referred to in that paragraph (in the case of a part owner who has not participated in the decision-making process, the day after the day on which the part owner is notified of the decision).

The part owners of a ship are liable to perform the obligations arising from the use of the ship in proportion to the value of their shares.

①Even if the part owners of a ship have a partnership agreement, each part owner (excluding one that is the ship's manager) may transfer that part owner's share in whole or in part to another person without the consent of the other part owners.

②The part owner of a ship that is the ship's manager may not transfer all or part of their share to another person without obtaining consent from all other part owners.

①The part owners of a ship must appoint a ship's manager.

②All of the part owners of a ship must consent in order to appoint a person that is not a part owner as the ship's manager.

③The appointment of a ship's manager must be registered. The same applies to the extinguishment of the ship's manager's authority to represent the part owners.

④The provisions of Article 9 apply mutatis mutandis to the registration under the provisions of the preceding paragraph.

①A ship's manager has the authority to perform any and all acts in and out of court on behalf of the part owners of the ship in connection with the use of the ship, except for those set forth in the following:

②A limitation on the ship's manager's authority to act as agent may not be asserted against a third party in good faith.

①A ship's manager must keep books concerning their duties and enter in them all information concerning the use of the ship.

②The ship's manager must settle the accounts concerning the use of the ship for each specified period and request approval from the part owners of the ship.

If a ship would lose Japanese nationality due to the transfer of the share of a part owner of the ship or due to a part owner's loss of Japanese nationality, another part owner may demand that the part owner in question sell their share to the other part owner at a reasonable price or put the share up for auction.

After the leasing of a ship is registered, it is also valid against a person that later acquires a real right over the ship.

A lessee of a ship that uses that ship in a voyage at sea for the purpose of conducting commercial transactions bears the obligation to make the repairs needed to enable the use of the ship if the ship incurs any damage after the lessee receives it; provided, however, that this does not apply if the cause of the damage is attributable to the lessor.

①A lessee of a ship prescribed in the preceding Article has the same rights and obligations as the shipowner toward third parties as it concerns particulars related to the use of the ship.

②In the case referred to in the preceding paragraph, any statutory lien arising from the use of the ship is also valid against the shipowner; provided, however, that this does not apply if the holder of the statutory lien knows that the manner in which the ship is used by the ship's lessee is in violation of the contract with the shipowner.

A time charter contract becomes effective by virtue of one party promising to man and equip a ship and to allow the other party to use the ship for a specified period, and the other party promising to pay the hire.

A time charterer may give instructions to the master concerning decisions on the ship's route and on other such necessary particulars related to the use of the ship; provided, however, that this does not apply to pre-departure inspections and other such particulars relevant to the safety of the voyage.

Fuel costs, pilotage charges, harbor charges, and any other ordinary costs incurred in connection with the use of a ship are borne by the time charterer.

The provisions of Article 572, Article 739, paragraph (1), and Article 740, paragraphs (1) and (3) apply mutatis mutandis when goods are transported by a ship under a time charter contract, and the provisions of Article 703, paragraph (2) apply mutatis mutandis to a statutory lien arising from the use of a ship by a time charterer. In this case, the phrase "as of the time of the ship's departure" in Article 739, paragraph (1) is deemed to be replaced with "as of the time of the ship's departure for each voyage".