Shipping companies should remain focused on sanctions compliance for 2023. The sanctions space has been bursting with activity as a result of the Russia-Ukraine war, which shows no signs of abating. Companies continue to seek advice with respect to international sanctions with respect to all aspects of Russian sanctions and other countries such as Iran, China and Venezuela. In 2022, the US continued to aggressively adopt, implement, and enforce US sanctions, including in the shipping and transportation sector. Because the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control ...

On 23 March 2023, we published part two of ‘The Sustainability Imperative’, our multi-layered investigation into the impact of environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) considerations on the shipping industry. “One of the key findings in ‘The Sustainability Imperative – Part 2’ is that shipowners have become more collaborative. In 2021, two-thirds said they would like to form partnerships to pursue innovation. Now, 56% are already in an ESG-linked tie-up.” Examining ESG issues through the lenses of finance, regulation and technology, and drawing on a weighty survey of industry participants, the ...

Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) has advised Société Générale on the financing and delivery of the 174,000 cbm Class LNG vessel “Lech Kaczyński” (the “vessel”) built and completed in December 2022 by Hyundai Heavy Industry Co., Ltd., South Korea. The vessel is subject to financing by way of crédit-bail, partially backed by Export Credit Agency K-SURE (Korea Trade Insurance Corporation). The vessel is bareboat chartered to an affiliate of the Knutsen Group and sub-time chartered to a subsidiary of Polish multi-energy company PKN Orlen. Société Générale is one of the ...

Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) advised Nai Int. Ltd. (“NAI”) on the purchase of eight vessels from Vassholmen Shipping Ltd. (“Vassholmen”) – the “Valcadore”, “Valgardena”, “Valle Azzurra”, “Valle Bianca”, “Valrossa”, “Valsesia”, “Valtellina” and “Valverde”. The vessels were acquired by NAI as a result of the exercise of the call options provided under the relevant sale and leaseback transaction dated 18 December 2018. NAI is a Maltese subsidiary of Italy’s Navigazione Montanari group, which specialises in shipping products for the oil and petrochemical sectors. Vassholmen is a subsidiary of Cyprus-based Sole ...

Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) has advised Société Générale on the financing and delivery of the 174,000 cbm Class LNG vessel “Lech Kaczyński” (the “vessel”) built and completed in December 2022 by Hyundai Heavy Industry Co., Ltd., South Korea. The vessel is subject to financing by way of crédit-bail, partially backed by Export Credit Agency K-SURE (Korea Trade Insurance Corporation). The vessel is bareboat chartered to an affiliate of the Knutsen Group and sub-time chartered to a subsidiary of Polish multi-energy company PKN Orlen. Société Générale is one of the ...

On March 3, 2023, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), a specialized agency of the United Nations that regulates international shipping, announced its research project into the availability of low and zero-carbon marine fuels and technology.[1] The Future Fuels and Technology for Low and Zero-Carbon Shipping Project (FFT Project) is one of several initial steps that the IMO will take to accomplish its priority goal of eliminating or reducing carbon emissions from international shipping. Ultimately, the FFT Project will support the IMO Strategy on Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Ships ...

Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) advised Snam Group (“Snam”) on the drafting of commercial contracts relating to the floating regasification and storage unit (“FSRU”) “BW Singapore” with BW Fleet Management AS (“BW”). The vessel will be based out of the port of Ravenna, Italy, in the northern Adriatic Sea giving it easy access to potential new LNG flows from North Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean. The agreements include a contract for the design and construction of works necessary for the mooring of the FSRU and its connection to the gas ...

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright has advised ABN AMRO, as documentation agent and sustainability coordinator for a syndicate of lenders, on a $200m sustainability and gender diversity linked loan to Navigator Gas L.L.C. (Navigator) for the re-financing of ten LNG carriers. The deal, which completed on 28 March, incorporates KPIs linked to both the environmental performance of Navigator’s fleet and – in what is a new development for the shipping industry – the number of women holding leadership roles at Navigator. The Norton Rose Fulbright team was led by ...

Governments around the world are advancing carbon reduction goals to help mitigate against concerns arising from climate change. As industries strive to meet the goals set by governments, they will continue to seek alternative sources of power besides traditional fossil fuels. Offshore wind power generation is a promising source of renewable energy and will support global goals in carbon emission reduction. It is worth noting that the proliferation of the industry is giving rise to a myriad of legal issues as marine contracting adapts to the unique characteristics of the ...

Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) has been assisting Anglo American with its sustainable maritime transportation strategy, the first phase of which has culminated in January 2023 with the loading of first cargo for m.v. ‘UBUNTU HARMONY’. The vessel is the first in a series of ten 190,000 deadweight LNG dual-fuelled bulk carriers constructed, or under construction, at Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., destined for use by Anglo American. Anglo American, a leading global mining company is targeting carbon-neutrality for its controlled ocean freight, and to halve its Scope 3 emissions, ...

Tonnage tax has now been in place in the UK since 2000 and has benefitted greatly from a generally consistent, stable approach from government with few legislative changes. The current government has often expressed its support for the concept of tonnage tax, especially following Brexit, and has appreciated the benefits the system brings to the UK’s shipping cluster. The announcements in the recent budget were as welcome for repeating that message of support as for the positive changes made. The three new measures are: 1. to allow a new “election ...

Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) has advised Navigator Holdings (“Navigator”) on a US$200m loan agreed with a syndicate of lenders, led by ABN AMRO Bank and Nordea and including SEB and BNPP, for the financing of ten vessels. Highlighting the ever-increasing importance of the sector’s focus on achieving its ESG goals, the loan agreement notably included a sustainability-linked margin adjustment with not only a KPI linked to fleet environmental criteria, but a second KPI linked to the number of women in leadership roles at Navigator, one of the first KPIs ...

In February 2021, Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) published The Sustainability Imperative report on the impact of environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) considerations on the shipping industry. Two years on, our new report explores how attitudes have evolved, who is shaping today’s ESG agenda and how sustainability squares with new geopolitical challenges such as the war in Ukraine. It then seeks to chart a path forward, looking at the new technologies available, how they will be funded nd potential new regulation in areas like carbon trading. Built around a global ...

A new era in Greek national maritime legislation is set to begin with the enactment of a new Code of Private Maritime Law (the “New Code”). The New Code, which comes into force on 1 May 2023, replaces the existing code which dates back to 1958. “The new aims at enhancing the legal certainty and transparency for transactions regarding the operation and legal status of ships and regulating modern forms of maritime activity that were previously overlooked.” THE NEW CODE’S OBJECTIVES The New Code’s provisions aim at: restoring coherence to ...

In the Pan Ocean Co Ltd v. Daelim Corporation (DL Lilac) [2023] EWHC 391 (Comm) charterparty dispute, the arbitral tribunal found that the charterer was in breach of an implied obligation to have the holds re-inspected without delay after a failed inspection and they were not, therefore, entitled to claim the vessel was off-hire for any of the 12 days between the Master calling for reinspection and when the reinspection eventually took place. On appeal, the Court found that the tribunal should not have found that the vessel was immediately ...