46 U.S.C. § 31326 — Court sales to enforce preferred mortgage liens and maritime liens and priority of claims

(a) When a district court sells a vessel^* in an in-rem action enforcing a preferred mortgage or maritime lien, every claim existing on the sale date ends, including a possessory common-law lien affected under section 31325(e)(2), and the vessel is sold free of those claims. (b) Each ended claim attaches to the sale proceeds in the same amount and priority, except: (1) a preferred mortgage, including one on a foreign vessel^* guaranteed under chapter 537, has priority over all claims except court-approved expenses and fees, court-imposed costs, and preferred maritime liens; and (2) for a foreign vessel whose mortgage is not so guaranteed, the preferred mortgage is below a maritime lien for necessaries supplied in the United States.