On November 21, 2022, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets ‎Control ‎‎‎(“OFAC”) reissued General License (“GL”) 13C related to the Russian Harmful Foreign Activities ‎‎Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR Part 587 (the ‎‎‎“RuHSR”), which supersedes GL 13B. GL 13C extends the time for U.S. persons “to pay taxes, fees or import duties, and purchase or receive permits, licenses, registration, or certifications” that are otherwise prohibited by Directive 4 under Executive Order (“EO”) 14024 (“Prohibitions Related to Transactions Involving the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, the National ...

Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) has advised Nordea Bank Abp, filial i Norge (“Nordea”) on term loan facilities of up to US$208,330,000 to be made available by Nordea and Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB, Singapore Branch to Taylor Maritime Investments (“TMI”) to assist in financing its acquisition of shares in Grindrod Shipping Holdings Limited (“Grindrod”). The security includes security over accounts held in Germany and South Africa in relation to Grindrod shares listed on NASDAQ and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and security over nine Marshall Islands handysize vessels. The facility agreement ...

Global law firm Reed Smith has hired Julia Norsetter, JD, formerly a senior policy advisor at the U.S. Department of Transportation, as the policy and analysis lead for the firm’s global Transportation Industry Group. In the newly created role, Norsetter will provide analysis and strategic input, as well as sharing insights into the transportation market, specifically in shipping, and aviation and advanced air mobility – representing a number of Reed Smith’s key sectors. Norsetter brings valuable senior experience to the firm and its clients, having previously developed a range of ...

A Danish court on Monday found a Nigerian man guilty of endangering the lives of military personnel during a gunfight last year with Danish troops on an anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of Guinea. However, the court declined to punish the man because of his health, and his suspected accomplices had been released. “The court emphasized that the man, together with the other perpetrators, fulfilled all the signs of piracy and had to be described as a pirate group,” Copenhagen city court said in a statement. He was, however, never ...

Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) has advised Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale (“NORD/LB”) on the long-term financing of an import terminal for liquified gases to be constructed in Stade-Buetzfleh, Lower Saxony, Germany. The project in Niedersachsen Ports GmbH & Co. KG’s harbour section, which is being co-financed by both the German Federal Government and the state of Lower Saxony, is expected to be operational by the end of 2023. The terminal will first operate via a floating storage and regasification unit (“FSRU”) that will supply a land-based regasification facility at a later ...

Law firm Hill Dickinson has announced new partners within its Marine and Trade team as part of the firm’s Accelerated Partner Promotion Scheme. The five legal directors from the firm’s London, Manchester and Piraeus offices, have been elevated to partner status with effect from 1 November 2022. They join the ranks of the firm’s existing partners, boosting overall partner numbers to over 150. They are: Shipping team members Rosie Goncare (London) and Alexander Freeman (Piraeus); John McNeilly from the Commodities team (London); and Cargo and Logistics team members Tom Turner ...

The global freight industry is facing both downwards (regulatory) and upwards (consumer) pressure to reduce its carbon emissions. We take a look at some of these pressures in this briefing and consider what their impact may be. Downwards pressure: Two IMO regimes, the Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI) and Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII), have just come into force (on 1 November 2022) via amendments to MARPOL Annex VI, and will have to be complied with by applicable ships from 1 January 2023. The EEXI regime relates to the technical ...

Interpretation by the court of a force majeure clause under the MOA – distinction between “delivery” and “transfer of title” over a vessel – Covid-19 restrictions This case involves a dispute regarding the validity of the termination of a ship’s sales contract (MOA). On 5 March 2020, Bart Maritime (No 2) Inc (the sellers) sold the MV Shagang Giant (the vessel) to NKD Maritime Limited (the buyers) for scrapping in India. The MOA contained the following two relevant clauses: Clause 2 (Delivery): ‘The Vessel shall be delivered and taken over ...

Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) is delighted to announce that capital markets and corporate lawyer Filana Silberberg has joined the firm as a Partner in New York. She joins from Seward & Kissel LLP where she was Counsel in their Capital Markets and Securities Group. Filana has over a decade’s experience advising clients, primarily in the maritime sector, on capital markets and securities transactions and other corporate matters. She regularly represents U.S. listed companies on a wide range of transactions including public and private securities offerings, dual listings, direct listings ...

A Nigerian court has charged 26 men with conspiracy to commit a maritime offence and attempting to illegally deal in crude oil after authorities accused their supertanker of sailing in Nigerian waters without authority. The captain is an Indian national while the crew members are from Poland, India, Sri-Lanka and Pakistan, court papers showed. At the request of Nigerian authorities, Equatorial Guinea detained the Heroic Idun, a vessel capable of carrying 2 million barrels of oil, on Aug. 17 for sailing without an identifying flag, fleeing from the Nigerian navy ...

Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) has advised BNP Paribas (“BNPP”) on US$1,170m JOLCOs (Japanese Operating Lease with Call Options) backed by Chinese ECA SINOSURE arranged for Seaspan Corporation (“Seaspan”). Seaspan is a leading container subsidiary of NYSE-listed Atlas Corp. Seaspan will use the loan proceeds to fund 15 7,000 TEU dual fuel newbuild container vessels which further strengthens its long-term liquidity whilst growing its fleet within its ESG framework and policies. BNPP acted as ECA Agent, Facility Agent and Security Agent, BNPP and Societe Generale as Mandated Lead Arrangers and ...

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright has advised longstanding client, Stena Line, on two ECA-backed Japanese Operating Leases with Call Options (JOLCOs), the first in the passenger ferry sector and a rare example of ECA-backed JOLCOs in the shipping sector. The JOLCOs, which combine ECA financing with an operating lease containing a purchase option, were for two E-flexor class RoPax ferries constructed at China Merchants and were backed by Chinese export credit agency Sinosure. The equity funding arrangements were arranged by FPG-AIM and the underlying loan arrangements were arranged by ...

The cargo misdelivery claim in Trafigura Maritime Logistics Pte Ltd v. Clearlake Shipping Pte Ltd (Miracle Hope) [2022] EWHC 2234 (Comm) gave rise to various issues under the letters of indemnity (LOIs) that had been given in order to secure delivery of the cargo without presentation of the original bills of lading. In earlier judgments, the Court gave useful guidance on the International Group of P&I Club LOI wordings. It also clarified the security obligations of intermediate parties in a charterparty chain under back-to-back LOIs. In the latest judgment, the ...

Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) has advised a consortium of lenders comprising Crédit Agricole Italia S.p.A (agent bank), UniCredit S.p.A., Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) and Banco BPM S.p.A on a €29.5m loan, backed by Italian ECA SACE, granted to Fratelli Cosulich LNG2 S.r.l. (“Fratelli Cosulich”) to finance 70% of the construction costs of an new, environmentally friendly LNG carrier for the supply of LNG bunkering services currently being built by Chinese shipyard Nantong CIMC Sinopacific Offshore & Engineering Co. Ltd. The 5,300-ton vessel, with a carrying capacity of 8,200mc+ ...

Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) advised illimity Bank S.p.A. (“illimity”) acting as lending, arranging and agent bank and SACE agent, on two loans granted to Kalypso Compagnia di Navigazione S.p.A. (“Kalypso”) to finance the acquisition of the container ship “Burgundy”. The first loan was secured under the “SupportItalia” guarantee issued by Italy’s ECA SACE S.p.A. pursuant to Decree-Law no. 50/2022 and the second by a guarantee granted by the European Investment Fund. With the acquisition of the Burgundy, Kalypso increases its fleet to four vessels and furthers its strategic aim ...