Shipbuilding

Advising and assisting our clients with their newbuilding projects is a core area of our practice and, in a number of cases, we are engaged in large-scale fleet renewal programmes.

Typically, we are involved at an early stage in the negotiating process, including in relation to documentation accompanying any relevant invitation to tender (ITT) or request for proposal (RFP) process, working alongside the client’s technical and commercial team to ensure that the contractual provisions are not just robust but are also “fit for purpose” in the context of the technical challenges and building schedule.

We advise on contracts for the construction of vessels across the spectrum of shipping, including those for passenger vessels, offshore units and LNG carriers.The shipbuilding team has experience working on newbuilding projects in Scandinavia, Northern and Southern Europe, China, Korea, Japan, Singapore, Vietnam and North America.

Recent examples of our work include:

• Assisted one of the world’s largest ferry companies with multiple shipbuilding contracts for various classes of ferry, together with contracts for design services and ship delivery services, with numerous attendances abroad for negotiations with European and Scandinavian shipyards
• Advised a major commodities trader with the negotiation of a contract for the purchase of its first 300,000 DWT oil tanker (as part of a series) from a state-owned Chinese shipyard.
• Advised a government owned conglomerate with the financing and construction by a European shipyard of an eco-friendly vessel to transport hazardous materials.
• Advised a European naval builder on shipbuilding contracts for patrol vessels destined for foreign naval use, together with related joint venture, financing and transportation arrangements, including construction of onshore support facilities.
• Assisted on construction contracts for tugs, barges and other equipment for a South American infrastructure operator, together with negotiations in South America with Turkish and Chinese builders, review of design contracts and advising on charters for delivery of the tugs and barges from the build locations to South America.
• Acted for one of the world’s largest cruise lines in connection with shipbuilding contracts for in excess of 30 years encompassing the negotiation of scores of cruise ship construction contracts