Our shipping finance expertise allows us to take a full-service approach to the industry. This gives us an involvement from the earliest moments, at pre-build contract stage, through to delivery of the vessel.
We advise on sale and purchase, structured financings and refinancings of all types of vessel including cargo ships, oil rigs and even corporate entities such as vessel support companies. Our developing niche as the number one in the yacht finance market saw us involved in transactions on yachts valued at over US$1 billion in 2006. As part of our holistic service to the shipping industry, we can provide all the extras to shipping transactions, such as advice on related tax, regulatory, insurance, employment and liability issues.
The team is based in our London office, but also embraces lawyers in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Lawyers in Dubai have specialist knowledge of the particular requirements of Islamic financing structures and Islamic financial organisations.
Our clients are mainly owners, but we increasingly act for financial entities and also for shipyards. Many details of our clients and work are confidential; however, we acted for Renaissance in its US$150 million acquisition of BUE Marine Group (a shipowner and marine services group with an owned/chartered fleet of nearly 50 vessels) to create one of the top 10 offshore support vessel operators; and assisted owners in the sale of an FPSO unit to a consortium of buyers for development of an offshore oil field.