As a ship or a ship under construction marked in the Trafic Affairs Register can be mortgaged. In Finland the authorities responsible for processing vessel's mortgages are the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom and State Department of Åland. The State Department of Åland is responsible for vessels that have home port in the province of Åland.
A ship marked in the Transport Register as either a ship or a ship under construction may be mortgaged with the owner’s consent. Normally the financial commitment takes the form of a bearer bond. A record of the mortgage’s approval is made on the bond and in the Register.
Application can be made for confirmation of a mortgage for several bonds at the same time. Different bonds may have different conditions and secured parties. Ship mortgages are confirmed based on the application and in accordance with conditions agreed by the debtor and creditor. The Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom is the registering authority in mortgage matters.
Mortgages are valid for ten years if they are not renewed or cancelled. The mortgage must be renewed within ten years of the date when it was confirmed or most recently renewed. A mortgage can also be partially renewed.
If the mortgage is not renewed, it expires. A mortgage can also be cancelled. If the original bearer bond is lost, the mortgage may be cancelled once the bearer bond has been cancelled by a district court. The application for mortgage cancellation must include the original ruling of the district court on the cancellation of the document.
As a general rule, the data in the Transport Register is public. Data about ship mortgages and other encumbrances can be obtained by ordering an encumbrance certificate.