Legal Definitions - exercitor

Exercitor

An exercitor is a legal term, primarily from civil law, referring to the individual or entity that temporarily controls a ship and is entitled to its operational profits. This person or entity might be the ship's actual owner, someone who has leased the ship (a charterer), or even a lender (mortgagee) who has taken possession of the ship due to a loan default. The key characteristic is that they are the one benefiting from the ship's commercial activities at that specific time.

• Example 1: A Cargo Ship Charter

  A global logistics company, "Ocean Freight Inc.," charters a large container ship from its owner, "Maritime Holdings LLC," for a six-month period to transport goods across the Pacific. During these six months, Ocean Freight Inc. is responsible for the ship's operations, crew, and fuel, and in return, they collect all the revenue generated from the cargo they transport. In this scenario, Ocean Freight Inc. acts as the exercitor because they are the entity temporarily controlling the ship and profiting from its commercial use, even though they don't own it.

• Example 2: A Fishing Vessel Owner-Operator

  Maria owns and operates a small fishing trawler, "The Salty Siren." She takes her vessel out daily, catches fish, and sells her haul directly to local restaurants and markets. Maria is the exercitor of "The Salty Siren" because she is the person directly controlling the ship's operations and receiving all the profits from its commercial activity (fishing). Even though she is the owner, her role in operating the vessel for profit makes her the exercitor.

• Example 3: A Bank Taking Possession of a Yacht

  A luxury yacht owner defaults on a significant loan from "Coastal Bank," which was secured by the yacht itself. To recover its losses, Coastal Bank legally takes possession of the yacht and arranges for it to be chartered out for private events and tours through a yacht management company. During the period the bank controls and profits from the yacht's chartering activities, Coastal Bank (or its appointed agent) is considered the exercitor. They are temporarily in control of the vessel and are receiving the profits from its commercial use to offset the defaulted loan.