Earlier this year, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) exercised its powers pursuant to Article 21(3) of the Benchmarks Regulation to compel ICE Benchmark Administration (IBA) to continue publishing 1-month, 3-month and...more
On December 15, 2023, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (“ISDA”) published its legal opinion (the “ISDA RMI Opinion”) as to the enforceability under the law of the Republic of the Marshall Islands of...more
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The Republic of the Marshall Islands recently amended its maritime law and related regulations. Specifically, Section 302 of the Maritime Act of the Marshall Islands (the “Maritime Act”) has been revised to...more
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Section 309(2) of the Maritime Act of the Marshall Islands has been amended recently to provide important clarifications on what indebtedness may be secured by a so-called “pursuant to agreement” mortgage as...more
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The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) was enacted by the United States Congress, and signed into law by President Joseph Biden, in 2021 as part of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020. The purpose of the CTA...more
Background Offshore wind investments have become increasingly popular within the renewable energy sector due to the vital role they play in the global transition to clean energy. United States congress has created federal tax...more
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The Ocean Shipping Reform Act (OSRA), which amends the Shipping Act, was signed into law by U.S. President Joseph Biden in 2022 to alleviate certain measures taken by shipping companies in the midst of supply...more
Background Offshore wind is the renewable energy industry’s newest darling. Federal and state funding opportunities have abounded in the wake of increasingly available and reliable technologies to implement the green energy...more
A knock-for-knock indemnity clause is a contractual risk allocation mechanism commonly utilized in the oil and gas industry. Charterparties and other maritime contracts concerning vessels also sometimes include this concept....more
Lenders not only earn interest on the amounts lent, which needs to be sufficient not only to cover the lender’s cost of capital but also provide a sufficient return, but they also typically receive, depending on their role,...more
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As the Russia-Ukraine war approaches its one-year anniversary with no end in sight, U.S., EU and UK authorities, among other nations, continue to exert calculated but sustained pressure on the Russian...more
1/31/2023
/ Asset Freeze ,
Australia ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Executive Orders ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financing ,
G7 ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Oil Prices ,
Petroleum ,
Russia ,
UK ,
Ukraine
The much anticipated and debated EEXI (Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index) and CII (Carbon Intensity Indicator) regulations have gone effective as of January 1, 2023. All ships of 5,000 gross tonnage and above will be...more
A promissory note, in its simplest form, is an instrument by which a Borrower (the Maker) acknowledges its obligation to repay the Lender (the Payee). Historically, Lenders required Borrowers to enter into both a credit...more
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In recent years, one of the emerging financing methods for public and private vessel owners has been private placements of debt securities, wherein a company usually owning multiple vessels will sell...more
According to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the shipping industry currently accounts for 2.2% of global emission of greenhouse gases (GHG), with the potential, if left unregulated, to increase 50-250% by 2050....more
Much as one puts down earnest money in advance of closing on a home, or a lump sum down when buying a car, the buyer of a large commercial vessel will often lodge all or part of the purchase price with an escrow agent to...more
In a long-anticipated decision, on September 8, 2022, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (the “Second Circuit”) vacated the judgment of the Southern District of New York (the “District Court”) in, In re...more
The United States sanctions regime is a complex and ever-changing regulatory space. The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) maintains sanctions lists which are updated in real-time—not on...more
The winds of change are coming for the nascent U.S. offshore wind industry, with several large projects scheduled to come online before 2030. Major commercial and governmental entities expect offshore wind will be big...more
EEXI and CII - What Are the Implications for Vessel Owners and Lenders? Background The International Maritime Organization (“IMO”) adopted MARPOL Annex VI in 1997 to limit air pollutants commonly associated with vessel...more
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Almost a year to the day after the EVER GIVEN blocked the Suez Canal, making global headlines and focusing the general public’s attention on the world of shipping, bad news struck the EVER GIVEN’s parent...more
6/16/2022
/ Boating Accidents ,
Borrowers ,
Business Interruption ,
Business Losses ,
Financial Distress ,
Lenders ,
Loans ,
Loss of Income ,
Maritime Transport ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Shipping ,
Shipping Cargo ,
Supply Chain ,
Vessels