Watson Farley & Williams (WFW) News

Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) advised shipping company - MPC Container Ships ASA (“MPCC”) on two significant transactions aimed at the long-term optimisation and modernisation of its fleet. MPCC contracted China’s Taizhou Sanfu Ship Engineering to build six 3,700 TEU container ships, with the first delivery scheduled for H2 2028. The newbuildings have been chartered on a long-term basis, with extension options, to a pioneering global liner shipping company....

Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) advised Okeanis Eco Tankers Corp. (“Okeanis”) on its successful offering of about 3.2m new shares of common stock, raising approximately US$ 115m. Proceeds from the offering will be used as partial consideration for the acquisition of two newbuild Suezmax vessels currently under construction at Daehan Shipbuilding Co. in the Republic of Korea. The transaction attracted strong investor demand, and the shares were issued at price a...

Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) advised shipping company - MPC Container Ships ASA (“MPCC”) on the order of four new container ships with long-term charter agreements. The contracts for the construction of the four 4,500 TEU vessels at a price of US$58m each were signed with Chinese shipbuilder Jiangsu Hantong Ship Heavy Industry Co. Ltd. Delivery is scheduled for H1 2028, with options for two additional vessels at the same price. The vessels ordered will be tailor...

Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) advised shipping company - MPC Container Ships ASA (“MPCC”) on the order of two 1,600 TEU container ships and related eight-year charter agreements with a renowned shipping liner company. The contracts for the two high-cube container-optimised newbuilds were signed with the Fujian Mawei Shipyard in China, with the total investment amounting to US$66 million. Delivery of the two vessels is scheduled for the second half of 2027. MPCC al...

Watson Farley & Williams (WFW) advised a consortium of lenders on an ECA-backed JOLCO financing for Ocean Network Express Pte. Ltd. (ONE) to finance four newbuild container vessels. The consortium comprised BNP PARIBAS (acting through its Tokyo Branch and as ECA Coordinator), The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, Tokyo Branch and Citibank, N.A., Tokyo Branch (as mandated lead arrangers) as well as Japanese export credit agencies Japan Bank for International Cooperation (&l...

Watson Farley & Williams advised a consortium of lenders comprising Nordea Bank Abp, filial i Norge, acting as facility and security agent, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB, ABN AMRO Bank N.V. and Danske Bank A/S on a US$350m revolving credit facility provided to Ardmore Shipping Corporation (“Ardmore”) to refinance Ardmore’s existing revolving credit facilities and for general corporate purposes. The facility was secured by 20 of Ardmore’s vessels. Founded in 2010,...

Watson Farley & Williams ("WFW") advised Pacific Basin Shipping ("Pacific Basin") on a US$250m sustainability-linked seven-year senior secured committed revolving credit facility. The facility will be used for general corporate purposes, supporting Pacific Basin’s growth strategy and sustainability ambitions. This sustainability-linked facility incorporates a tiered pricing mechanism, where the interest margin adjusts based on Pacific Basin’s performance against predetermin...

Watson Farley & Williams advised ING Bank N.V., Singapore Branch—acting as arranger, lender and facility and security agent — on a term loan facility provided to Tank Container Investment Fund Pte. Ltd. (“TCIF”), a subsidiary of a sub-fund managed by FPG AIM Capital Pte. Ltd. (“FAC”), for the acquisition of stainless-steel tank containers. The facility — FAC’s first fund financing — includes an accordion option for potential upsizing and...

Watson Farley & Williams (WFW) advised shipping company - MPC Container Ships ASA (MPCC) on two transactions, as part of the implementation of its fleet strategy. The first transaction was the order of four new 4,500 TEU container vessels from Chinese shipyard Taizhou Sanfu Ship Engineering for a total investment of US$228 million. The ships are scheduled for completion and delivery to MPCC in the second half of 2027. Decarbonisation of maritime transport MPC has already signed three-year...

Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) is delighted to announce that London Corporate Partner Damian Adams has been appointed as a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (“MBE”) in HM The King’s Birthday 2025 Honours List. This prestigious recognition is in honour of his significant contributions to the British Chamber of Commerce in Singapore. Damian has dedicated over 20 years to the British Chamber of Commerce in Singapore, serving as a Boar...

Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) advised shipping company MPC Container Ships ASA (“MPCC”) on its strategic sale of seven container ships for a transaction value of US$94m. The disposal is part of MPCC's strategic development and the targeted restructuring of its fleet. MPCC has agreed to sell five ships en bloc to Contships Group, comprising three 1,300 TEU ships and two 2,000 TEU ships. In addition, two further ships have been sold to Seacon Group. Portf...

Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) is pleased to announce that maritime disputes expert - Andrew Rigden Green has joined the firm as a partner in Hong Kong. He was previously at Stephenson Harwood in the same city. Andrew has over 20 years’ disputes experience having begun his career focussing on arbitration and London High Court litigation. In 2012, he relocated to Hong Kong to grow Stephenson Harwood’s maritime disputes practice and establish its international arbitr...

On April 17, 2025, the Office of the US Trade Representative (“USTR”) published a notice of action (the “USTR Notice”) implementing its port fee proposal, first announced on February 21, 2025. The rules differ substantially from the February proposal. The calculation of the fees has changed to a net tonnage-based fee (or for certain vessels, based on containers discharged or Car Equivalent Units). LNG transportation and vehicle carriers Specialised rules apply to LNG t...

Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) advised NAI Int Malta Ltd. (“NAI”) on the bareboat charterparty and subsequent sale of the M/v Aethalia to TSL Panama SA, a company owned by Peru’s Transgas Shipping Lines SAC (“Transgas Shipping”). The M/v Aethalia, a motor tanker built at Soli Deniz Cilik Ltd. shipyard in Istanbul in 2008, is currently registered with the Malta Ships Registry. Its sale and charter align with both NAI and Transgas Shipping’s s...

The English Commercial Court (the “Court”) has provided helpful clarity on the extent of damages available to a claimant shipowner for the late redelivery of a vessel under a time charter where there is evidence that the owner of the vessel would have been unable to enter into a subsequent charter for the vessel. In such circumstances, only nominal damages will be recoverable, as no actual loss has been suffered. Background Hapag-Lloyd AG (the “Charterers”) entered i...

Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) advised BPER Banca S.p.A. (“BPER”), as agent and financing bank, and Banca Popolare di Sondrio S.p.A. (“BPOS”), as financing bank, on an up to US$50m financing granted to Ignazio Messina & C. S.p.A. (“Ignazio Messina”). This allows Ignazio Messina to finance the renewal of its fleet as part of an investment plan to build full container vessels of greater capacity and size than those it previously deployed....

Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) advised a syndicate of lenders led by BNP Paribas (“BNPP”), SACE SpA and SIMEST SpA on the financing and delivery of the cruise vessel Norwegian Aqua, owned by Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. group (“NCLH”) and built at Fincantieri’s Marghera shipyard in Italy. Norwegian Aqua is the third of NCLH’s Prima-class vessels and, at approximately 156,000 gt, is the largest vessel to be built at the Marghera shipya...

In recent months, several oil majors have begun to turn away from renewables to refocus on fossil fuels. This will likely lead them to increase their capital budgets for developing deep-sea oil and gas reserves, requiring a balance of new (large-scale) floating production units and commercial vessels to transport products. In this article, they look at the differences between the terms on which commercial vessels are designed, constructed and delivered and those for projects for offshore floati...

Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) is advising InfraVia Capital Partners (“InfraVia”), through its InfraVia European Fund VI, on its acquisition of a majority stake in Louis Dreyfus Armateurs (“LDA”), the French family-owned group specialising in high value-added industrial marine services. Expected to be completed in H1 2025, the transaction is subject to prior consultation with employee representative bodies and the usual regulatory approvals. New modes...

The TMS Ship Finance and Trade Conference 2025 brought together global industry pioneers, financial experts, and policymakers for transformative discussions on the future of maritime trade, finance, and sustainability. The conference served as a vital platform for addressing key challenges, exploring financial innovations, and advancing sustainability-driven solutions for the maritime sector. Challenges for maritime decarbonisation Al-Maghafi cautioned that these changes might slow sustainab...

Watson Farley & Williams (‘WFW’) advised Eurazeo, acting as lead investor via its Eurazeo Transition Infrastructure Fund, on a €70 million investment in new offshore service vessel platform MPC OSE Offshore. The platform, a joint venture between MPC Capital and O.S. Energy, helps develop, build and manage service support vessels for offshore wind farms. The consortium of investors comprised European family office and others in addition to Eurazeo. Watson Farley & Willi...

Watson Farley & Williams (‘WFW’) advised BNP Paribas and Standard Chartered Bank as co-documentation banks and DNB Bank ASA, New York, as agent, on a US$500 million revolving credit facility to Scorpio Tankers Inc. (‘Scorpio Tankers’). The oversubscribed credit facility was provided by a group of eight banks. The facility is a revolving credit facility with a seven year maturity date and provides Scorpio Tankers the flexibility to draw down or repay the loan during t...

A host of expert speakers have been confirmed for the TMS Ship Finance and Trade Conference, which takes place on Tuesday, 18th February, at the Taj Exotica Resort, the Palm Dubai. The Conference, which has the theme of Financing Green Shipping Solutions, is the seventh conference in this series and looks set to be the best one yet. Development of shipping Nawal Al-Maghafi, an award-winning journalist and documentary maker, will moderate this session Keynote addresses will be made by Dr Ibr...

Watson Farley & Williams advised long-standing client TUI Cruises GmbH on the delivery of the Mein Schiff Relax, the eighth ship in the Mein Schiff series and TUI Cruises’ first to be built at Italy’s Fincantieri shipyard. The Mein Schiff Relax is the first of two InTUItion-class ships being built at Fincantieri for TUI Cruises. The vessel marks a new era for the Mein Schiff experience, setting new standards in terms of comfort, exclusivity and feel-good atmospher...

Watson Farley & Williams (WFW) and Hogan Lovells jointly advised on three separate greenship financing transactions with an aggregate value of US$1.5bn+. All three transactions, one of which was secured by Chinese ECA Sinosure, were carried out by the Green Loan Principles of the Loan Market Association. WFW advised arrangers, financing banks, and green loan arrangers, with Hogan Lovells acting for Hapag-Lloyd. Capacity expansions In October 2024, Hapag-Lloyd signed two orders for a total...

The expansion of offshore wind energy is one of the central projects of the energy transition at both German and European levels. In Germany alone, the installed capacity of offshore wind turbines is set to grow to at least 30 GW by 2030 and 70 GW by 2045. In the EU, the target is even greater at 111 GW by 2030 and 317 GW by 2050. These targets make close cooperation between the energy, infrastructure, and transport sectors indispensable. Sustainable value creation In particular, the close li...

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright, working in conjunction with pioneering Spanish law firm Uría Menéndez, has advised Bibby Marine on a financing package with HSBC UK to support the development of its previously announced zero-emission electric Commissioning Service Operation Vessel for servicing offshore wind farms. The multi-million euro financing made available by HSBC UK is backed by Cesce, the Spanish Export Credit Agency. HSBC acted as sole ECA coordinator, mandated lead...

Watson Farley & Williams (WFW) advised HSBC UK on the financing of Bibby Marine’s previously announced zero-emission electric commissioning service operation vessel.  HSBC UK’s pre- and post-delivery facility was supported by Cesce, the Spanish Export Credit Agency, with HSBC acting as sole ECA coordinator, facility agent, and mandated lead arranger.  Battery technology The vessel, to be built at Astilleros Armon in Vigo, Spain, incorporates pioneering battery techno...

Watson Farley & Williams ('WFW') advised Euromont Shipping Company S.p.A. ('Euromont'), as seller, and Navigazione Montanari S.p.A. ('Navigazione Montanari'), as bareboat charterer, on the sale and leaseback of oil chemical tankers - 'Valleblu' and 'Valturchese' to two Japanese leasing companies. The Valleblu, originally under the International Ship Registry held with the Port Authority of Trieste, is currently registered by new owner - Kimura Shoji/Kt Neo Marine under the Panama Ship Regis...

Watson Farley & Williams (WFW) advised the Eurazeo Sustainable Maritime Infrastructure ('ESMI') fund on a sale and lease back transaction to be entered into with Mainport Shipping Ltd ('Mainport') for the pre- and post-delivery lease financing of the hybrid survey and ROV support vessel - 'Geo Master'. The vessel is currently under construction at Neptune Construction B.V., a shipyard in the Netherlands. Supporting the growing European offshore wind market, the vessel is scheduled for deliv...