Finance
Our attorneys counsel borrowers, lenders, lessors, lessees, venture capital funds, investment bankers and related parties in both simple and complex financing transactions in the United States and abroad. Thompson Coburn’s maritime attorneys work with all major flags of convenience handling matters associated with maritime finance, vessel registration and documentation, and mortgage recordation.
We advise financial institutions on ways to minimize risk and protect their investments in the shipping industry. Our attorneys have arranged financing for virtually every type of vessel, from bulk cargo ships, container ships and passenger vessels to barges, drilling rigs, towboats, gaming vessels, ore carriers, offshore service vessels and other marine equipment. We have a wealth of experience in structuring and negotiating direct loans, single-investor and leveraged leases, true leases, mortgages, conditional sales agreements, pledges and multiple-layered debt financings. We routinely represent international clients that often use complex financing structures involving foreign-flagged vessels. Our attorneys also are well-versed in bankruptcy matters, handling workouts, restructuring agreements, forbearance agreements, as well as vessel arrest and foreclosure.
We regularly serve as special maritime counsel in transactions involving large investments in maritime businesses, including investments by venture capital funds. We counsel our clients on regulatory issues relating to these investments, such as qualification under the stringent citizenship requirements of the Jones Act for investments in U.S. domestic trade.
In addition to financing, Thompson Coburn handles other types of transactions associated with the maritime industry. We represent clients building, buying and selling vessels. Our attorneys negotiate and draft all forms of sale purchase agreements, vessel construction contracts, bareboat/demise and time charters. We represent venture capital investors in the industry and assist clients in formalizing their shipping relationships by drafting slot charters and pooling arrangements, contracts of affreightment, management and crewing agreements and related contracts. We handle all aspects of taxation of shipping businesses, including sales and use and property taxes.
Our presence in St. Louis, Missouri, has enabled us to establish close ties with operators on the Mississippi, resulting in a thorough knowledge of matters associated with domestic shipping operations, known as Jones Act or coastwise trade.
Attorneys in our Washington, D.C., office have direct experience with federal agencies, the U.S. Congress and other regulatory bodies. We have long represented clients in connection with government-supported finance, including vessel and shipyard finance involving the Title XI program, the Export-Import Bank of the United States and the Capital Construction Fund. We also have considerable experience in the private placement of maritime-related debt instruments in the capital markets. Thompson Coburn marine finance attorneys are active members of the Maritime Law Association of the United States, and one of our partners is Vice Chair of its Marine Financing Committee.