Arias, Fábrega & Fábrega‘s shipping practice is renowned for the depth and breadth of its offering, with expertise in both contentious and transactional matters in this space. The team is skilled in advising owners and financial institutions on the financing of ships and shipping operations, as well as in obtaining port operations licences, and it also handles a high volume of registrations of vessels under the Panamanian flag (with a notable strength in the registration of mobile offshore drilling units). On the litigation front, the firm is particularly experienced in representing international clients in cross-border disputes. Practice head Jorge Loaiza III is highly sought after by banks, shipping companies and investors to advise on ship financing, acquisitions, litigation and registrations, while Pilar Castillo is also a standout name for shipping finance. The firm further strengthened its practice in August 2023 with the arrival of Fernando Aued, an expert in maritime litigation, from Dentons.

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Key clients

Seadrill
Macquarie Bank
Mojasa
Trafigura Beheer
SapuraKenkana
Grupo Mexico
Schahin Engenharia
Grupo R
Touax
Carnival Cruise Lines

Work highlights

Advising IDB Invest, as lender, on the $128.3m financial package provided to BW LNG to fund the BW Tatiana floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), as part of the Energía del Pacífico (EDP) LNG-to-power project in El Salvador.
Assisted Norden with the purchase and resale to the Panamanian subsidiary of the Japanese end-buyer of six new buildings from a Chinese shipyard.
Acted as special Panamanian counsel to Constellation Overseas on the restructuring of its debt of over $425m, which was mainly secured by mortgages over six operative drilling rigs owned by the company's subsidiaries.

Lawyers

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