건조중 선박의 담보 및 집행과 관련한 법적 문제

As vessels under constructions have inherent economic value, they can be used as security. The security value of a vessel under construction is closely related to the issuance of refund guarantees by financial institutions promising to return the paid installments to the buyer in instances where, for whatever reason, the buyer of the vessel is entitled to demand a refund of paid installments. If the financial institution that issued the refund guarantee is required to pay out under that guarantee, the financial institution will have recourse claims against the shipbuilder, and it is necessary to obtain security for such recourse claims. In such circumstances, the security that the shipbuilding can offer to the financial institution is the relevant vessel that is under construction. The usual methods for obtaining security against a vessel under construction are mortgages and a so-called transfer security interests. With regard to transfer security interests, although this is the method that is most commonly used by financial institutions, in practice, there are many instances where appropriate consideration is not given to the special characteristics of this atypical security. Also, considering that the reason why financial institutions become liable for payment under the refund guarantees that they issued is that the shipbuilders do not have the financial ability to return the installment payments to the buyer due to their own financial difficulties, the security rights against the vessel under construction may come into competition with other claim rights by other creditors of the shipbuilder, and the legal status of the security rights can be affected by insolvency or bankruptcy proceedings. This paper will examine several problems that have arisen in relation to security and enforcement against vessels under construction, the courts’ view of these problems, and methods for resolving these problems.