5. Mortgages.—
These are species of chattel mortgages. The ship is a chattel or personal property, for many purposes. Prior to June 5, 1920, these mortgages were not recognized as maritime transactions. The Merchant Marine Act of that date makes radical changes in the law governing ship mortgages. The new provisions are to be found in Section 30, which is to be cited, independently of the rest of the statute, as the "Ship Mortgage Act, 1920," and is printed in full with the rest of the Merchant Marine Act in the Appendix.