Argentina (AR) — civil law.
Nothing on this page describes United States practice. There is no certificate sold to an investor, no administrative sale of land for unpaid tax, and no redemption window after a
subasta judicialin Argentina. If you arrived carrying US assumptions, read falsos-amigos first.
Buques, artefactos navales and embarcaciones
Ley 20.094 defines a buque as “toda construcción flotante destinada a navegar por
agua”. An artefacto naval is any other floating structure that serves navigation but
is not built to navigate — a dredge, a floating dock, a pontoon (art. 2). Both are
bienes registrables (art. 155), entered in the Registro Nacional de Buques
(RNB), which the Prefectura Naval Argentina keeps. Inside it, the Registro Especial de Yates (REY) holds pleasure craft (Ley 19.170, art. 1(a)). One number governs almost
everything: 10 tons of gross tonnage (arqueo total). At 10 tons or more, title acts
need a public deed or an authenticated private document on pain of nullity (art. 156),
and the vessel can carry a hipoteca naval (art. 499). Below 10 tons, a private
document with certified signatures suffices (art. 159), and the only available security
is a prenda (art. 499). Two sets of privilegios marítimos (art. 476) wrap around the
hipoteca: a first group that outranks it — crew wages, port and navigation charges, salvage
— and a second group that ranks below it. A venta judicial “realizada en la forma
establecida en esta ley” extinguishes them once the price is deposited, and they move to
the price (arts. 484(b), 472). Before ordering the sale, the court must ask the RNB
for a report of mortgages and attachments (art. 553). If privileged claims appear to
exceed the base and a privileged creditor asks, it must open a concurso especial with edicts in the Boletín Oficial
and on the vessel itself (art. 554). Whether those steps were followed is the core of
the title review. Vessels also reach buyers through forced sales that are not judicial.
The Prefectura sells wrecks and inactive hulls whose owners ignored an order to remove
them (arts. 17 bis, 19, 23). The Aduana sells seized or abandoned craft (Código
Aduanero arts. 417–434). Banks holding a prenda over a small boat can sell it after a
court-ordered secuestro without a full lawsuit (Decreto-Ley 15.348/46 art. 39).
See comprar-una-embarcacion-en-subasta for the step-by-step guide and the underwriting checklist.
Read the rest with a free account
The opening section is open to everyone. The procedure in detail — statutes, deadlines, who may bid, and what the record does not say — is behind a free account.
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