46 U.S.C. § 31323 — Disclosing and incurring obligations before executing preferred mortgages

(a) — If the lender, the mortgagee, asks, the vessel owner, the mortgagor, must, before signing a preferred mortgage, tell the lender in writing about any debt the owner already knows is owed on the vessel. (b) — After signing a preferred mortgage, and before the lender has had a fair chance to file it, the owner cannot take on any new debt that creates a lien on the vessel without the lender's consent — except debts for a stevedore's wages, when hired directly by certain people named in section 31341, wages for the vessel's crew, general average contributions, or salvage costs, including salvage under a contract. (c) — If the owner is convicted under section 31330(a)(1)(A) or (B) for breaking this section, the lender can choose to make the whole mortgage debt due immediately.