2016-07-07
2591 
简介
The traditional means of financing the acquisition ofsecond-hand ships is themortgage-backedloan and there are many banks and other financial institutions that specialisein providing this type of funding in the maritime sector.
购置二手船舶的传统融资方式是抵押担保贷款。这里有许多银行和其他金融机构的海事部门专门提供这类资金。
However, the global shipping markets now have increasingnumbers of largescaleshipping businesses whose size, sophistication and transparency enables them togain deeper, more regular and (in a financial sense) more efficient access tothe world's capital and equity markets. For those major shipping participantsthere have been discernible moves towards corporate financing and investmentschemes and away from the traditional mortgage-backed bank lendingarrangements.
然而，全球航运市场现在已经大规模地扩张，航运企业的规模、复杂性和透明性促使他们能够更深入地，规则地和（经济意识）更有效地自由进出全球资本市场和股权市场。对于那些重要的航运从业人士来说，他们已经有明显认识到改变企业融资的方向和投资计划方案，并偏离了传统的抵押担保银行进行贷款的安排。
船舶融资之买卖合同考虑的事项
For ship acquisitions which are financed by means oftraditional mortgage-backed bank loans, the lenders' security typically willcomprise:
- registeredship mortgages;
- assignmentsof the ship's earnings; and
- assignmentsof the insurances and requisition compensation payments relatingto the ship.
对于那些通过传统的抵押担保银行贷款方式进行融资购买船舶，典型地，贷款人的保障包括：
(1). 船舶抵押登记；
(2). 船舶收益的转让；
(3). 转让船舶有关的保险利益和船舶征用补偿的款项。
In addition, lenders may insist that their loans are alsosecured by:
- guarantees;
- pledgesof shares in the ship's registered owner and, perhaps, in other companieswithin the same group;
- chargesover bank accounts;
- othersecurities taken over specific contracts such as charterparties.
(1). 担保；
(2). 质押船舶注册所有人的股权，或许，在同一集团公司内的其它公司的股权；
(3). 押记银行账户；
(4). 其它担保，如接管诸如租船合约等具体合同。
A buyer's lender will wish to review the sale contractand the documents to be delivered or produced by the seller under the contract,in order to check:
- thecontract terms relating to the ship's legal and physical status at the time ofher delivery;
- thenature of the seller's obligations under the sale contract; and
- thequality of the buyer's rights under the sale contract.
(1). 在船舶交接时，与船舶的法律地位和实际状态有关的合同条款；
(2). 根据船舶买卖合同，卖方的义务性质；
(3). 在船舶买卖合同下，买方权利的特性。
Lenders will wish to ensure that the buyer obtains fulllegal title in the ship and that such title is free of all registeredencumbrances and any other third party rights (such as maritime or possessorylien claims) that might rank ahead of the lenders' mortgage interests in theship. Lenders will therefore check the title transfer and warranty provisionsin the sale contract as well as the title transfer and other documents to bedelivered by the seller at closing, including the bill of sale and thecertificate of freedom from encumbrances.
贷款人将希望确保买方获得船舶全部合法的所有主权，并且这种主权没有任何登记负担以及没有排在船舶贷款人抵押权益之前的其他任何第三方的权益（如船舶优先权或占用留置权的索赔）。因此，贷款人将会检查买卖合同中船舶主权转让和保证条款，以及在船舶交接时，船舶主权的转移和卖方转交的其它文件，包括船舶卖据和船舶无负担的证明。
Lenders will also wish to check that the sale price is aswarranted by the buyer who may be required to confirm that the price shown inthe sale contract is the true price and that there are no address commissionsor other arrangements which will operate to reduce the real price of the shipspecified in the contract.
贷款人还将检查买方保证的船舶买卖价格，并要求买方确认买卖合同中所显示的价格是真实的价格，而没有佣金回扣（回佣）或其它账目安排，这样是为了降低在合同中规定的实际船舶价格。[1]
Additionally, lenders will wish to satisfy themselvesthat the price shown in the sale contract is at or close to the ship's marketvalue and, to that end, the buyer may be required to pay for a valuation reportfrom independent valuers approved by its lenders.
此外，贷款人还希望使他们自己相信在销售合同显示的价格是或接近于船舶的市场价值，并且，买方可能需要为此支付由贷款人认可的独立鉴定师所做出的评估报告的费用。[2]
Lenders may require the right to approve the salecontract inspection regime. If they wish to appoint their own surveyor toinspect the ship for condition and valuation purposes, it will be necessary forthe buyer to ensure that the contract obliges the seller to allow the lenders'surveyor to make such an inspection. It should be noted that lenders mayrequire the right, following completion of the sale, to have independentsurveyors inspect and value the ship (at the buyer's expense) at least on anannual basis although, in practice, this right is not always exercised.
贷款人可能要求享有正式批准买卖合同检查制度的权利。如果他们希望任命自己的验船师检查船舶状况和评估船舶价值，对于买方来说，就必须确保买卖合同中规定卖方允许贷款人的验船师进行这样的检查。应当注意的是，贷款人可能在船舶买卖交易完成之后，至少按年度为基础，要求独立的验船师检查和评估船舶价值的权利（由买方承担费用），虽然如此，在实践中，这种权利并不总是去行使。
Lenders will wish to check the documents to be deliveredor produced by the seller at closing in order to confirm that the seller'ssignature and performance of the sale contract has been duly authorised.Lenders will therefore look carefully at the seller's corporate authorities aswell as any notarial and other attestations attached to the bill of sale andother delivery documents.
贷款人也将希望检查卖方在交接时交付或制作的文件，以确认卖方的签字和买卖合同的履行是已经得到正式的授权。因此，贷款人将会仔细查看卖方公司的授权，以及任何公证的船舶卖据与其它交接文件，并附带其它相关的证明。
Usually, lenders will require the buyer to confirm thatthere has been no adverse change in the condition of the ship between contractsignature and delivery.
通常情况下，贷款人会要求买方确认在合同签署与船舶交付之间的一段时间内船舶状况没有严重的变化。
In addition, lenders will require the right to approve:
- buyer'schoice of flag;
- buyer'schoice of Classification Society (if there will be a change in this regardafter delivery); and
- thepayment mechanics to be used at closing.
此外，贷款人也会要求有权审批：
(1). 买方选择船旗国的权利；
(2). 买方选择船级社的权利（在这方面，如果交接后会改变船级社）；
(3). 在交接时，所使用的付款机制。
Finally, lenders will wish to satisfy themselves withregard to the proposed closing arrangements in relation to the saletransaction, as well as the proposed ship and mortgage registration procedures.
最后，贷款人还希望船舶买卖交易相关的（文件）交接计划安排符合他们的要求，同时还包括预期的船舶实际交接和抵押登记手续。[3]
船舶融资之船旗国的考量
As a mortgage over a ship will usually be governed by thelaw of the country under whose flag the ship is registered, lenders may wish toveto certain choices of flag. In particular, they will wish to ensure that theproposed flag has an effective system for registering mortgages which is widelyrecognised as such outside the country in question. Usually, lenders will bewary of newly emerging flags on the grounds that their ship mortgages arecomparatively untested, at least when compared to ship mortgages registeredunder other well-established flags.
由于船舶抵押通常是受到船舶登记国法律的管辖，贷款人可能会希望否决某些船旗国的选择。特别是，他们希望确保其推荐的船旗国具有一个完善的抵押登记制度，并被该船旗国之外的其他国家广泛承认。通常情况下，贷款人会担心最近新兴的船旗国，因为这些国家的船舶抵押制度相当程度上未经验证，至少是相对于在其他著名的船旗国的船舶抵押登记制度来说。
In addition, lenders will assess the suitability of aparticular flag on the following criteria:
- Doesthe proposed flag have a clear system for providing good and immediate evidenceof registration of the ship and of encumbrances (including mortgages) over theship, and is there a clear system for establishing the priority of claimsagainst a ship, both as between different classes of mortgage and as betweenmortgagees and other parties who make claims against the ship?
- Isit possible for the shipowner to sell the ship, or to cancel the ship'sregistration, or to remove (or alter the priority of) registered mortgageswithout the mortgagees' prior approval? Usually the lender, in its capacity asa first priority mortgagee, will also wish to have the right to block theregistration of any lower-ranking mortgages.
- Wherefinance is being made available by a group or “syndicate” of banks, can themortgage registration system readily accommodate changes in the composition ofthe lending syndicate? Usually they would prefer the mortgage to be granted infavour of a single security trustee or agent in order to avoid the need for themortgage to be amended each time there is a change in the composition of thesyndicate. Most flag state rules allow for the granting of a mortgage in favourof an agent or security trustee but some will require that each lender is namedin the mortgage.
- Doesthe proposed flag impose any currency transfer or withholding tax restrictionswhich could cause payment or grossing-up problems in relation to the repaymentof principal and the payment of other sums due from time to time under shipfinancing arrangements?
- Doesthe proposed flag have an effective system for monitoring and enforcing therequisite safety and technical standards for the ship (as lenders will beconcerned to ensure that the value of the ship is preserved)?
- Willthe ship and her owners be able to satisfy all applicable eligibility andregistration requirements of the flag in question?
(1). 所提议的船旗国是否具有一个明晰的制度，能够提供适宜的和直接的船舶注册登记与船舶产权（包括抵押）负担的证据，以及，是否具有完善的制度，能够在不同的抵押等级之间和抵押权人与向船舶索赔的其它各方当事人之间，确立船舶索赔的优先级别。
(2). 未经抵押权人的事先批准，船东是否有可能出售船舶，或取消船舶的注册登记，或消除（或更改）船舶登记的抵押权优先等级？通常情况下，贷款人是作为第一优先抵押权人的地位，也希望有权阻止任何次级的抵押登记。
(3). 如果是由银行团体或者‘辛迪加财团’提供的融资，抵押登记制度是否很容易适应贷款财团的组成变化？通常，他们更愿意准许船舶抵押受益于一个单独的并有担保的受托人或代理人，以避免每一次该财团的组成变化而需要变更抵押登记。大多数船旗国的规则都允许船舶抵押可以受益于一个代理人或有担保的受托人，但有些国家规定，要求在抵押登记中列明每个贷款人的名称。
(4). 所推荐的船旗国是否会对任何货币转帐强加限制，或有预扣税款的限制？这可能会导致在船舶融资安排下，间或，偿还本金和支付其它应付款项等方面有关的付款问题或返计还原（增加至纳税前的最高值）的问题。
(5). 所推荐的船旗国是否具有一个完善有效的制度以监督和执行必要的船舶安全和技术标准（作为贷款人所关注的是，要确信船舶的价值能够得到保持）？
(6). 船舶和她的船东是否能够满足该船旗国所有适用的资质条件和登记要求？
Lenders may also take account of the political dimensionand, in particular, factors such as whether the proposed flag state ispolitically stable and respectable. For example, the Organisation for EconomicCooperation and Development (“OECD”) publishes a list of uncooperative taxhavens every year. According to the OECD, these countries have decided that itis not in their interest to join the OECD member states and other members ofthe international community to end harmful tax practices that facilitateanti-competitive practices and distort the market for financial services.
贷款人也可能会考虑政治层面的原因，特别是，像诸如所推荐的船旗国政治稳定和良好信誉等因素。例如，经济合作与发展组织（经合组织）每年都会公布号称‘避税天堂’的非经合组织的国家名单。根据OECD的统计，这些国家为了他们自身的利益已经注定不会成为经合组织的成员国和其他国际社会团体的成员国以终止其不利的税收行为，这是协助反竞争的行为，并扰乱了金融服务的市场。[4]
Lenders will wish to be satisfied that the buyer is ableto comply, and does in fact comply, with all requirements concerning bothprovisional and permanent registration of the ship under the laws of the chosenflag. Moreover, if it is proposed that the ship be registered on a provisionalbasis for any period, the lenders will also wish to establish whether it willbe possible for the buyer to grant an effective, registrable mortgage over theship before she is permanently registered under her new flag.
贷款人还希望确信买方能够遵守，并且事实上确实遵守，根据所选择的船旗国法律，船舶临时登记和永久登记相关的所有规定要求。此外，如果提议船舶在某一时期是以临时的方式进行登记注册的，贷款人也希望船舶在新的船旗国永久登记之前，去证实买方是否可能被准许船舶进行有效的与可注册的抵押登记。
[1]对于佣金回扣（回佣）的论述，参考下文第二章第2.23节。
[2]参看上文第1.3节。
[3]有关船舶交接安排，请参看下文第五章第5.33节。
[4]更多有关经济合作与发展组织的黑名单和一般动态信息，请访问网址：http://www.oecd.org.
魏长庚船长简介：出生于河南商丘睢县， 1996-2000 年在大连海事大学学习，获得航海技术专业学士学位。具有16年海上船舶航行经验，做过7条船(包括20多万吨的Cape size船舶)远洋船长，目前任职于华洋海事中心。魏长庚船长一直热爱海商法（重点是英国海商法）的学习，并致力海商法的翻译工作（包括Informa出版的Bill of Lading（提单），Laytime and Demurrage（装卸时间与滞期费）等书籍。魏长庚船长目前正在寻找有意向合作翻译上述书籍的人选，有兴趣的请与魏长庚船长联系（微信号CaptWei）。
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