Shipping & Logistics, Banking & Finance, Energy & Naturel Resources, Labor & Employement

Ms. Aksakal joined AKT Law Firm as a Senior Partner after working for major maritime law firms in Turkey for 13 years.

Serra Aksakal provides legal expertise to the largest ship owners and shipyards in Turkey. She has extensive experience drafting shipbuilding, conversion and repair contracts. She is the first Turkish lawyer who has assisted in the drafting of the shipbuilding contract of an FSRU. She also assisted in at all stages including contract negotiations for the shipbuilding contract, security documents in project financing and the delivery.  She is also a busy player in assisting Clients in sale and purchase of vessels of general cargo, fishing, tugboat, tankers and VLGC vessel, including their financing agreements.  She is also handling aircraft sale and purchase agreements and registrations. She is also taking good care of their management agreements with operators.

Serra Aksakal has vast experience on large workout and restructuring projects for Turkish and foreign banks from England, the United States, Germany, Norway, The Netherlands, and India, and for numerous active Investment Funds in the Turkish market. One of her financing projects provided by a Turkish bank has been awarded by EMEA Finance with a UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)-focused investment loan of USD 80 million, which has been recognized by EMEA Finance Project Finance Awards 2022 as the “Best Transport in Structured Deal in CEE” and in 2019 Best Structured Finance Deal in CEE in 2019 for a loan of USD 173.7 million.

https://www.tskb.com.tr/en/about-us/about-us/news/sdg-focused-investment-loan-of-usd-80-million-from-tskb-to-sefine-shipyard

Serra Aksakal is a preferred name for contract negotiations and draft for worldwide commodity traders and suppliers in their EPC contracts for terminals and operators in Turkey and different parts of the world.

Serra Aksakal is involved in consultancy and trade agreements for carbon credits, financing terms for Swiss based company and many Turkish companies. Serra Aksakal has also taken active roles in concession agreements in many African countries such as Tanzania, Congo, Zambia and also Colombia.

Serra Aksakal also gained large experience in purchase agreements for large scale properties abroad and all financing arrangements.

In addition to the specialized areas identified above, she deals with a wide range of commercial disputes including insurance, construction, trade, commodities, and refund guarantees. She has represented clients in Arbitration in the Middle East, Russia, Sweden, Great Britian and across Europe.

Ms. Aksakal is a member of Istanbul Bar Association (IBA)

Istanbul University, Law Faculty (1999)