Maritime Law, Insurance & Enforcement
Restructuring Support Agreements in Shipping
Summary
A restructuring support agreement (RSA) records creditors’ and sponsors’ commitments to negotiate or support a proposed debt restructuring.
Why this matters in ship finance
Coordination is crucial when fleet security, multiple lenders, guarantees and maturing balloon repayments intersect.
The concept
An RSA is a contract rather than a court-sanctioned restructuring by itself. Binding effects, stays, cram-down and approvals depend on applicable national insolvency or restructuring law.
How it is used in practice
Define support thresholds, milestones, releases, standstill, new-money priority, information duties and fallback enforcement rights.
Practical issues
An RSA does not necessarily bind non-signing creditors or eliminate maritime liens, arrest rights or sanctions restrictions.
How ShipFinance.ai uses this concept
Build a creditor-class and milestone tracker with cash runway, recovery comparison and approval dependencies.
Key takeaways
- An RSA coordinates consenting creditors but is not a court order.
- Non-signatories and statutory liens may remain unaffected.
- Track new-money priorities, milestones and fallback remedies.