ABSTRACT
This chapter describes shipbuilding and ship sale contracts allow the owner to increase the tonnage of its fleet and generate more business for its holding group or shipping pool. It presents the registration of the ship in the owner's name will then follow in order for her to be assigned a flag, a nationality and – rather importantly – a fiscal regime. If a shipowner is looking to increase its fleet on a permanent basis, the purchase of second hand tonnage could represent a quicker and cheaper alternative to a shipbuilding project. Shipbuilding contracts are very complex transactions and the contractual framework under which they are commissioned reflects such complexity. A shipbuilding contract is one directed towards the regulation of a substantial and complex construction project involving the supply of workmanship and materials. Ship finance agreements are usually individually negotiated from a standard structure on which terms the lender is prepared to make funds available to the borrower.
