This cassation appeal was directed against the judgment of the Antwerp Court of Appeal of 21 February 2022. The appellant Port argued that the Court of Appeal had wrongly decided that it could not invoke the privilege granted to it by art 17.1.5 of the Act of 11 April 1989 (the Wrakkenwet/Wrecks Act) against the relevant limitation fund established under the LLMC 1976.

Held: Appeal dismissed.

In accordance with art 1.c of the Wrecks Act, the LLMC 1976 is to have full effect in Belgium, except for arts 2.1.d and 2.1.e. It follows that the legislator exercised its right of reservation under art 18 of the LLMC 1976 to exclude the application of arts 2.1.d and 2.1.e of this Convention.

Pursuant to art 17.1.5 of the Wrecks Act, the authorities that have had a vessel, wreck, or other property removed, or that are a creditor for damage caused by the fault of a vessel, have the right in case of non-payment to sell the vessel, wreck, or other property, including cargo, and to pay out the price in preference to any other creditor.

Pursuant to art 51.1 of the Maritime Code, as applicable, no right of wreck priority may be exercised on the part of the limitation fund intended to settle property damage.

Under art 16 of the Wrecks Act, the person liable for the event by which the vessel sank or foundered and, in the absence of such liability, the owner referred to in art 13, shall be liable to the Government for the payment of costs incurred by the Government from the ex officio measures ordered pursuant to art 14. These costs are preferential to the amounts owed by the insurers of their own damage or of the liability of the persons under arts 15 or 16 on account of the loss of the vessel or the incident which caused the vessel to founder or sink.

This privilege referred to in art 16.2 of the Wrecks Act does not relate to the limitation fund, but to the compensation owed by insurers.

In so far as the appellant's plea assumes that the Court of Appeal violated art 16 of the Wrecks Act by not granting the appellant a privilege on the limitation fund under this provision, it cannot be upheld either.