Pedram Norton
Partner
Pedram is a leading maritime & offshore finance expert, he is known for helping clients through complex transactions with commercial acumen and precision.
Partner
Pedram is a leading maritime & offshore finance expert, he is known for helping clients through complex transactions with commercial acumen and precision.
Language - English
Jurisdiction - England & Wales
Pedram’s expertise spans maritime asset finance and leasing transactions across the Asia-Pacific region, including syndicated and bilateral loans, vessel financings, re-financings, restructurings, sale and leasebacks, and structured financings such as ECA-backed facilities, Japanese Operating Leases with Call Options (JOLCOs). He has acted for all parties in these transactions, including financial institutions, shipowners, and equity arrangers and underwriters.
His experience also covers vessel registrations and reflaggings, ship sale and purchase, newbuild financings, fleet refinancings, joint ventures, and chartering arrangements relating to assets ranging from FPSOs, commercial vessels to RoPax ferries and cruise ships. Pedram has a particular focus on the Japanese maritime sector, helping Japanese Banks, equity houses and tonnage providers with debt financings, finance leases and JOLs as well as foreign banks and shipowners with JOLCO financings, including a number of innovative and market leading transactions. He has co-authored an article providing an overview of the Japanese Operating Lease (with call option) in the Shipping sector.
Pedram has led teams on significant loan portfolio transfers and sales and has advised creditors on high-profile insolvency and restructuring cases, such as the Ocean Tankers/Hin Leong and Hanjin Shipping bankruptcies.
Pedram trained in Stephenson Harwood’s London office and has completed a secondment with a leading transport sector bank. He is recognized as a leading individual in shipping finance by Chambers Asia-Pacific and as a recommended lawyer by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific.
Floating, production, storage and offloading units
Advising Standard Chartered Bank on a unique US$1.3 billion project finance structure, relating to the pre- and post-delivery financing of Yinson Production's floating production, storage and offloading unit 'FPSO Agogo'.
BNP Paribas - Sustainability-linked JOLCO financings
Advising a BNP Paribas on a sustainability-linked Japanese Operating Lease with Call Option (JOLCO) financing of two bulk carriers for Wisdom Marine Group with a KPI linked to the reduction of fleet emissions.
BW LPG Limited
Advising BW LPG on their first Japanese Operating Lease with Call Option (JOLCO) financing structure. This transaction relates to the sale and leaseback with financing of an 83,299 cmb very large gas carrier (VLGC), BW Kyoto, in which the firm acted for BW LPG Limited as the lessee
ABN AMRO and Crédit Agricole – Sustainability-linked Fleet Financing
Advising on a US$160 million sustainability-linked loan which was made available to a subsidiary of BW Epic Kosan. The loan was secured to refinance 19 vessels for up to US$140 million, alongside an acquisition line of US$20 million to finance potential growth opportunities.
ECA-backed financings
Acting for a syndicate of three European banks in loans covering 12 bulk carriers under construction, a number of which are backed by a Sinosure credit policy, involving a novel cross-collateralisation structure devised by us for the transaction.
Loan portfolio transfers and sales
Acting for the Singapore branch of a European bank in connection with the transfer of its shipping, offshore and energy loan portfolio involving the transfer of approximately US$6 billion of loans advanced pursuant to approximately 160 separate financings.
Hanjin shipping insolvency
Acting for a number of international banks on a multi-year debt workout and enforcement exercise in relation to the insolvency of Hanjin Shipping including vessel sale strategies such as private sales and arrest / court auction processes.
Acquisition of dry bulk vessels
Advising Cetus Maritime on its acquisition of Chile-based shipowner-operator Nachipa Corp. With the addition of Nachipa’s Japanese-built, modern handysize vessels, Cetus Maritime’s fleet will comprise 65 ships, of which 75% will be eco-vessels.
ECA-backed financings
Acting for a syndicate of three European banks in loans covering 12 bulk carriers under construction, a number of which are backed by a Sinosure credit policy, involving a novel cross-collateralisation structure devised by us for the transaction.
Epic Gas
Advising ABN AMRO and Credit Agricole on the US$201 million refinancing of a portfolio of 20 LPG carriers for Epic Gas.
