Ancient form of loan, similar to bottomry, but secured on the cargo only and repayable only if the cargo is saved.
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(A contract of Insurance by which a ship or its cargo is pledged as collateral for a loan required to support a maritime venture. In the early days of marine insurance, a ship-owner would borrow money on a mortgage on the ship, and the mortgage would provide that if the ship were lost, the borrower would not have to reply the loan. This was Bottomry, which thus combined money lending with insurance. When cargo instead of hull was involved it was called “respondentia.”