New York Office News

Empire Offshore Wind, a joint venture between Equinor and BP, has awarded Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO) a long-term service operations vessel charter. The vessel will service the Empire Wind offshore wind farm project located 15-30 miles southeast of Long Island.Edison Chouest Offshore's plug-in hybrid service operations vessel (SOV) will be the first in the US offshore wind sector capable of sailing partly on battery power.The vessel will accommodate up to 60 wind turbine technicians…

The Liberian Registry said it has augmented its leadership team to help keep pace with nearly 12% over the last 12 months. The Liberian International Ship and Corporate Registry (LISCR) has added to its ranks Thomas Klenum as Senior Vice President of Maritime Operations, and Reynaldo Garibaldi as Senior Vice President of Maritime Operations and South America.Klenum, based at the Registry’s headquarters, is in charge of the Regulations and Standards, Investigations, and Fleet Security and Certifications Divisions.

Blank Rome’s maritime attorneys have represented clients in some of the largest maritime casualties in the last 20 years, including the Staten Island Ferry allision with a maintenance pier in New York, the blow out and eventual loss of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, the sinking of the El Faro during Hurricane Joaquin, and the collision between the Navy Destroyer USS John S. McCain and the tanker ALNIC MC in the Singapore Strait. These casualties have resulted in the catastrophic loss of life…

Montgomery McCracken announced it has named attorneys Robert E. O’Connor and Davis Lee Wright to the firm’s partnership. O’Connor, located in the firm’s New York office, was previously an associate. Wright, who is located in the firm’s Wilmington office, was of counsel. O’Connor is a general litigator and a member of the firm’s Maritime and Transportation practice group. He represents insurers, owners and operators of vessels, and marine fuel suppliers among others. O’Connor also…

Offshore wind power continues to gain momentum in the United States. How will the Jones Act affect the development, operation and maintenance of offshore wind farms? After years of planning and some unsuccessful attempts, offshore wind power developers finally have their first success in the United States. The Block Island Wind Farm, a 30-megawatt wind farm located just off the coast of Rhode Island, began operations in December 2016, fulfilling the goal of the project’s developer, Deepwater Wind LLC, to build America’s first offshore wind farm.

Swedbank’s chief economist, Harald Andreassen, isn’t “too hopeful” about the long-term prospects for the oil price, but then again, “I’m less certain of this than I’ve ever been as an economist,” he told a floating production conference in Oslo. After two-and-half years of oil-price collapse followed by layoffs in the thousands; stacked oil rigs and order freezes for offshore shipping, price insecurity itself is a partial expression of confidence. Beneath some palpable yet halting movements toward recovery in 2017…

With a presence on the U.S. market since 1994, Samskip Logistics has taken the next step by opening a new US head office in New York under the management of Paul Dean. For over two decades, the company has operated two offices in Norfolk, Va. and in Seattle. Samskip Logistics now plans to open more offices in the United States. All US-based staff will continue to perform an extended range of dry and reefer forwarding activities such as full (FCL) and less than (LCL) container loads, airfreight and warehousing.

Last October, America's Flagship, the SS United States, was on the brink of being sold for scrap metal because the SS United States Conservancy, the national nonprofit historic preservation organization that owns the iconic vessel, was running short on funds to cover the ship's expenses. However, thanks to the pro bono counsel from Vedder Price shareholder, Francis X. Nolan III, and other firms and individuals, the iconic ocean liner has been given a second life. On  February 4, 2016, the Conservancy announced an agreement granting Crystal Cruises an exclusive purchase option.

Webb Institute announced Michael T. Martin, PE as its new Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering. Prof. Martin has over 23 years of experience as a marine electrical engineer with a broad background in electrical systems including, electrical propulsion, power generation, power distribution, lighting systems, communications, navigation and internal communication systems. For the past five years, Prof. Martin has been the Vice President and principal engineer at Marine Design Dynamics, Inc.

Clarkson Capital Markets, the investment banking arm of shipping services group Clarkson PLC,  says it has enhanced its equity research coverage with the appointment of Omar Nokta as Managing Director of Shipping Research. Omar will be based in CCM's New York office. Omar brings significant sector experience and expertise to Clarkson Capital Markets. He joins CCM from Global Hunter Securities LLC where he was Senior Shipping Analyst. Prior to this he was Senior Research Analyst at Dahlman Rose, where he helped build the company into one of the leading shipping focussed investment banks, advancing its energy, commodities and metals and mining product offering.

Goltens Worldwide Management Corp. (GWMC) has announced the appointment of Roy Strand as Chief Operating Officer. Strand has previously served as the Vice President of Operations in the Americas and Europe, and will continue to serve as the Advisory Board Chairman within the Goltens Worldwide group of companies. Prior to joining Goltens, Strand held various managerial and global executive positions in the professional services field, including at KPMG Consulting, Netegrity and Computer Associates.

Michael G. Chalos has joined the New York office of global law firm K&L Gates LLP as a partner in the maritime practice. Previously the senior partner at the firm of Chalos O’Connor, LLP, Chalos is accompanied in his move by associates Luke Reid and George Kontakis in the firm’s Boston and New York offices, respectively. With a focus on traditional maritime and criminal environmental law, Chalos represents clients involved in high-profile civil and criminal environmental litigation. This has included the successful defense of the masters of the Exxon Valdez oil tanker and Selendang Ayu cargo ship, as well as numerous United States- and foreign-based corporations, ship owners, managers, operators, and crew who were the targets of criminal investigations by the U.S. government.

Independent full service investment bank & institutional broker dealer, MLV & Co inform that Natasha Boyden has joined the firm to captain the launch of a new research vertical focused on Marine Transportation and Shipping. She will work out of the New York office. "As MLV & Co continues to grow and make strategic decisions to diversify our research platform, we aim to recruit top-tier talent and respected industry leaders to lead these initiatives," said Patrice McNicoll, CEO and founding partner of MLV & Co. "There is a significant amount of synergy that Natasha's experience and tested industry knowledge will create for us at MLV & Co, especially as we focus on new opportunities in the Energy, Infrastructure, and Natural Resources sectors," said Dean Colucci, President of MLV& Co.

Michael E. Ford, 75, of Waretown, NJ, passed away on January 4, 2014. Born in Washington, DC and raised in Chevy Chase, Md., he graduated from the #United States Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, NY, in 1960 with a degree in Marine Engineering, and earned a master’s degree in International Business from Bernard M. Baruch College, New York, in 1979. He served his country as an officer in the United States Naval Reserve. Following his graduation from Kings Point, he sailed for the Alcoa Steamship Company, raising his Coast Guard license to Chief Engineer, unlimited.

Examining areas of change and growth in shipping is the focus of the 20th annual Hellenic-American and Norwegian-American Chambers of Commerce conference, often called the New York Shipping Conference. Entitled “Today’s Vision- Tomorrow’s Reality”, the conference will present a Macro Shipping and Economic Overview, a look at Shipping 2020, the challenges of balancing safety, regulatory compliance and costs, the current outlook and sources of dry bulk demand and supply, sourcing ship finance, and the commercial impacts of decisions regarding trade routes, chartering and futures.

Seasoned shipping and corporate finance lawyer, Brad Berman, joins the global legal practice of Norton Rose Fulbright’s US member firm as a partner based in the New York Office. Brad Berman focuses his practice on maritime and corporate finance, offshore incorporation, including Marshall Islands and Liberian law, and private wealth planning. He has represented ship owners, operators, investors and lenders in transactional ship finance matters, including capital markets, debt and equity, and mergers and acquisitions.

On September 17, McAllister Towing and Reinauer Transportation will be partnering with the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound and Sector New York in a major simulated marine accident and pollution incident on the waters of Long Island Sound. Responders will be faced with a simulated grounding and subsequent oil spill impacting the waters and shoreline of Connecticut and New York. The exercise is part of the National Preparedness for Response Exercise Program (PREP), a voluntary program bringing together industry and government to meet the exercise and preparedness requirements of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, legislation enacted following the Exxon Valdez.

Fidelis Group Holdings, through its subsidiary company Continental Underwriters, Ltd., a national marine Insurance coverage and service leader, announced today the formation of its new Inland Marine Division. Ed Helfers and Lisa Uzzo named Managing Directors. The new Inland Marine division will be based in the Company's New York office. H. Elder Brown, Jr., FGH's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said in a company statement, "We are excited to bring very senior, experienced talent into this new division of the Company.

KPI Bridge Oil, a global broker and trader in marine bunkers, marine lubricants and risk management products, has appointed Mr. Jordan Felber as Bunker Trader/Broker in its New York Office. Jordan initially joined KPI Bridge Oil in 2008 from a position with Global Transportation Services as Area Sales responsible and stayed with the company until end 2011. Now, Mr. Felber has rejoined the New York team as Bunker Broker/Trader. Jordan has spent the last 1.5 years as a bunker purchaser with a large shipowner.

ANV Holdings BV (ANV), a Dutch-headquartered specialty insurance business, signs agreement with Tower Group International, Ltd. (Tower) for the transfer of the unearned premium reserves on its marine and energy business previously written from its New York, NY office. As part of the transaction the team led by Messrs. Guarnera and Kaufmann will transfer from ANV to Tower in order to service the in-force policies for inland marine, off-shore energy, marine hull, cargo and liabilities currently serviced from the ANV New York office. ANV will continue to actively grow and promote its Marine and Energy business and customers from its London offices and through ANV Syndicate 1861. “This divestiture will enable ANV to pursue new investments in growing lines of business,” said R.

Global reach, inland and bulk handling expertise, domestic acquisitions and new U.S. Coast Guard approvals all team up to make ClassNK a logical choice to help solve your emerging subchapter M problems. That’s just the beginning. America’s Inland operators, faced with the coming scrutiny of Coast Guard subchapter M regulations, have also stood largely on the sidelines as service providers announce one subM solution after another. Software providers, consultants and marine surveyors all claim to have the answers to a problem that has not yet arrived because the U.S. Coast Guard’s preliminary language has not yet been approved. In the meantime, there is a new kid in town.

A finance lawyer with a focus in the transportation industry, Brian P. Devine, joins the New York office of Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P as partner. “Brian’s experience in shipping will increase the capabilities of our maritime practice,” said Thomas W. Hughes, the Chair of Fulbright’s Business Group. Devine advises clients nationally and internationally in finance and security arrangements; insolvency matters; mergers, acquisitions and divestitures; debt and equity offerings; sale and purchase; commercial transactions and disputes; and corporate governance and structure.

Braemar (Incorporating The Salvage Association), announces important new additions to its worldwide team of marine surveyors and consultants, as well as the opening of two new locations. In the New York office, John Walker will be joining Braemar SA as Chief Surveyor, P&I and Legal Services Manager for the Americas, bringing with him experience in marine consultancy at a senior level. Also new to the New York office is Luca Bruga, a naval architect, who will be joining as a Staff Surveyor.