Are offshore wind turbines movable or immovable property under Vietnamese law?
1) Introduction
The wind turbines of an offshore wind power project (Offshore WPP) consist of two main types: fixed-bottom and floating. Both types are attached to the seabed either by a foundation or by mooring, respectively (see the image 1 below).. It is not entirely clear if the wind turbines of an Offshore WPP should be considered as an immovable property or movable property under Vietnamese law. This is because it is not clear if the seabed, to which an offshore wind turbine attached, can be considered as “land” under Vietnamese law.
The classification of whether an offshore wind turbine is movable or immovable property could have significant legal impact on an Offshore WPP. For example,
immovable property attached to land can only be mortgaged to licensed credit institutions in Vietnam (not to foreign lenders); and
certain contracts relating to immovable property attached to land (e.g., title transfer contracts, lease contracts, or mortgage contracts) must be governed by Vietnamese law being the law of the country where the immovable property is located.
In this post, we will discuss in detail as to whether an offshore wind turbine is movable or immovable property. This post is written by Tran Duc Long, Le Thanh Nhat, and Nguyen Quang Vu.