BOTTOMRY

bottomry.Maritime law. A contract by which a shipowner pledges the ship as security for a loan to finance a voyage (as to equip or repair the ship), the lender losing the money if the ship is lost during the voyage. • The term refers to the idea that the shipowner pledges the ship’s bottom, or keel. Cf. RESPONDENTIA. [Cases: Shipping  88. C.J.S. Shipping § 221.][Blacks Law 8th]