Southeast Asia - Singapore

Stephenson Harwood LLP

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Stephenson Harwood LLP‘s large and well-rounded practice is well-equipped to advise across the gamut of shipping and offshore matters. The team advises an array of major banks and shipping companies in wet, dry, contentious and non-contentious transactions, major financings, and disputes. It also has experience assisting on cases involving sustainability and ESG-linked loans. Gregg Johnston heads the practice and has particular expertise in distressed debt scenarios. Huay Yee Kwan is prominent for her work in PRC leasing in emerging markets. John Simpson and Michelle Yong bring charterparty law and arbitration-related specialisms to the team, whilst Gregory Xu provides expertise in banking and finance. Pedram Norton and May 2023-promoted partner Jeffrey Tanner are noteworthy for their offshore work. Justin Gan is also a noted member.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘Top team in the market that is very knowledgeable based on the accumulated experience of its people.'

  • 'They have the edge over other firms given that they actually are prepared to push the interests of their clients and if not successful will propose alternative solutions.’

  • ‘Basically, the individuals are head and shoulders above their competitors and work tirelessly to achieve results within the agreed time frames. Will provide assistance above what you would normally expect.’

  • ‘The team is highly knowledgeable on shipping matters and are considered one of the best in the industry. The work scope for projects is well thought-out and transactions are closed smoothly.’

  • ‘Both Gregg Johnston and Matthew Seah are highly reputable in the Korean ship finance market. Their work is well appreciated as they often remember and anticipate lenders and clients' needs in upcoming projects thereby saving us a lot of time and effort when reviewing loan documentation. With their help, transactions are closed smoothly with no surprises.'

  • 'Very often our first preference would be to work with Matthew and Gregg for new projects.’

Key clients

  • ABN AMRO Bank
  • National Australia Bank Limited
  • Standard Chartered Bank
  • ING Bank
  • Bank of Communications Financial Leasing
  • ANZ Bank
  • BNP Paribas
  • StraitNZ Limited, Ferry Lines Limited
  • Pacific International Lines
  • E.SUN Commercial Bank Ltd (ESUN)

Work highlights

  • Advised a syndicate of lenders - comprising ABN AMRO Bank, ING Bank, TIAA FSB, and Clifford Capital - on a sustainability-linked loan.
  • Advised a syndicate of banks led by National Australia Bank Limited (NAB) and Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) on a US$405 million debt financing of 10 crude oil tankers (the vessels) to subsidiaries of ICBC Financial Leasing Co., Ltd. (ICBCL).
  • Advised ING Bank on the finance documentation for a newbuild tanker acquired via a joint venture arrangement. The MR tanker was purchased through a joint venture vehicle established between Singapore-based tanker owner and operator Hafnia and Monaco-based International Andromeda Shipping.

Lawyers

Hall of Fame

The lawyers at the very top of the profession, widely known and respected by peers and clients for their longstanding involvement in market-leading work.

Gregg Johnston

Gregg Johnston

Hall of fameStephenson Harwood

Gregg is the head of the Singapore based shipping and offshore finance team. Gregg acts on many of the highest profile transactions in the Asia Pacific region and is one of a few "go to" international ship and offshore finance lawyers with a focus on Korea. He acts for major ship financing banks and ship owners and has deep experience in all facets of shipping and offshore finance including syndicated lending, export-credit backed financings, FSRU financing, sale and leaseback transactions, loan portfolio sales, restructuring and workouts and enforcement work.

Leading individuals

Huay Yee Kwan

Stephenson Harwood

Huay Yee is a shipping and offshore finance partner. She has a long track record of advising on high value and complex transactions for clients. Her experience encompasses a wide range of asset classes including offshore assets and maritime containers.Huay Yee has experience representing lenders, owners, private equity houses and lessees, advising them on international financing transactions including export credit supported financings and tax-leveraged leasing structures. Additionally, she has also advised clients on international security enforcement actions and restructurings, particularly those arising from insolvency and corporate rehabilitation proceedings.

John Simpson

John Simpson

Stephenson Harwood

John is a Director of the Singapore Chamber of Maritime Arbitration and a Committee Member of the Maritime Law Association of Singapore. John has also served on the Advisory Board to the National University of Singapore Centre for Maritime Law. As a recognised expert in charterparty law, John was appointed to the Singapore Maritime Foundation drafting committee for the Singapore Time Charter Form, which eventually evolved into the new NYPE 2015 charterparty form. John has also advised GlobalORE on revisions to the Standard Iron Ore Trading Agreement (SIOTA). John advises on drafting and negotiation of shipbuilding contracts, charterparties, bills of lading, MOAs and associated disputes. John also has particular expertise in the drafting and negotiation of transhipment project contracts. John acts mainly for contractors in the offshore oil and gas sector and has advised on charterparties and construction contracts for FPSOs, FSRUs, drilling rigs, production platforms and offshore support vessels as well as advising on subsea construction disputes. John has assisted clients with tender processes, bids and negotiation of final contracts as well as disputes occurring during the running of the project. John advises traders on potential disputes arising out of letters of credit, bills of lading, charterparties and contracts for the international sale of goods, particularly coal, iron ore, oil, LPG, LNG and LME metals. John has also advised on the drafting of long term contracts for the sale of LNG and on sale and repurchase transactions.

Gregory Xu

Stephenson Harwood

Dr Gregory Xu is a partner who leads the general banking and project finance offering for Southeast Asia out of the Singapore office. He has over a decade of private practice experience and is a specialist in a range of complex multi-jurisdictional transactions. Gregory has extensive experience acting for financial institutions, funds, government agencies and companies in structuring, documenting and re-structuring against a combination of limited recourse and non-recourse syndicated and bilateral transactions in the fields of general/corporate finance, project finance, asset finance, trade finance, acquisition finance and leverage finance. He focuses on the Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions and regularly acts for clients in China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam. Gregory has specialist experience in the transportation sector, having advised on significant aviation, shipping and offshore oil and gas financings, particularly for FPSOs, FSRUs and LNG vessels. He acts for blue-chip clients on single and/or fleet-based asset (aircraft and ships) and equipment sale-and-purchase and sale-and-leaseback transactions and other corporate and commercial law arrangements. His expertise also extends to international security enforcement actions and restructurings, particularly those arising from insolvency and corporate proceedings. Gregory is presently admitted to practice law in the New York, England & Wales, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand and sits on the Admissions, Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and Young Lawyers Committees of the Law Society of Singapore. Prior to joining the firm, he was with a Magic Circle law firm and acted for clients across both their top-ranking banking and finance and asset finance practices.

Next Generation Partners

Justin Gan

Justin Gan

Stephenson Harwood

Justin is a dispute resolution partner that helps clients resolve commercial disputes whether in litigation, arbitration, mediation, or pre-proceedings. He has a strong focus on marine and international trade matters, and also handles non-contentious work in that sector. He is fluent in Mandarin and his matters often bear a Chinese element.

Pedram Norton

Pedram Norton

Stephenson Harwood

Pedram is a partner specialising in cross-border ship finance and offshore maritime transactions. He has over ten years' experience advising banks, funds, export credit agencies, ship-owners and operators on a broad range of syndicated and bilateral financings, vessel sale and purchase, leasing transactions and restructurings throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Pedram has built a strong reputation with clients who value his approachability, commercial solutions, attention to detail and dedication to getting the deal done.

Jeffrey Tanner

Jeffrey Tanner

Stephenson Harwood

Jeffrey is a partner who is recognised as a leading transactional lawyer known for his expertise in banking, finance and marine and energy transactional matters.

Practice head

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

Gregg Johnston

Other key lawyers

Huay Yee Kwan, Michelle Yong, John Simpson, Gregory Xu, Pedram Norton, Jeffrey Tanner, Justin Gan, Matthew Seah