Lawrence Graham Completes LATCO Loans
London law firm, Lawrence Graham has advised the Latvian Shipping Company on a complex multi-bank loan scheme to finance its recently completed purchase of three 68,000 dwt product tankers. The $125 million deal, together with $90 million of associated acquisition finance, involved separate loan agreements with banks in Hamburg, Stockholm, Riga and Rotterdam. number of banks through separate loans rather than obtain one syndicated loan. Latvian Shipping Company agreed to pay $41.6 million for each of the sister vessels and Lawrence Graham advised them on three separate purchases and loan facilities of $30 million each. The purchases and financings involved coordinating legal advice from many jurisdictions around the world…
Law Firm Warns on Shipbuilding Contracts
London law firm Lawrence Graham LLP says owners contracting for new ships should be extra careful about communication with the yard to ensure that they do actually get the ship they want, when they want it. Writing in the March issue of Lawrence Graham’s newsletter, Shipping Lawgram, Mike Lax, partner in the shipping law team, says, “In a hot market shipowners want ships quickly. Some shipyards take advantage of that by wriggling out of contracts and reselling early building slots at higher prices to new buyers. If the shipbuilding contract has been correctly drawn up, the law is generally on the side of the owner – but it is an unwise owner who relies too much on the law.
Lawrence Graham Urges Swift Action On Problem Deals
Lawrence Graham says shipping companies caught up in disputes involving insolvency and receivership need not come away from the table empty-handed, provided the dispute is handled correctly. In the latest issue of its Lawgram newsletter, Lawrence Graham explains that it was recently called in to advise on the legal aspects of a dispute involving a trawler being built at Romania's Manglia yard. The yard was hit by labour disputes, and the company which placed the order for the vessel missed its repayment to the bank. There was a dispute about payment guarantees, a late-delivery claim by the Scandinavian end-buyer, a claim by the yard for outstanding construction bills, and an argument over an advance VAT guarantee paid to the Romanian authorities.
