HFW Advises On US$300m Offshore Support Vessel Financing

Global, sector-focused law firm HFW has advised Stanford Marine and Allianz Middle East Ship Management (managed by the UAE-based asset manager SHUAA Capital) on its US$300 million refinancing facility to drive growth in its offshore support vessel (OSV) business. The transaction represented one of the most complex financings in the region, given the size of the fleet and the number of jurisdictions in which the business operates.

Umar Mirza, Fund Manager, SHUAA Capital: “It has been a pleasure working with the HFW team. We very much appreciate their commitment to this deal and the team’s efforts in making it a success. Without a doubt, it would have been difficult to conclude a transaction of this nature without a local team with the size and expertise that HFW has in the UAE.”

HFW’s team was led by Ian Chung and Tien Tai in Dubai and also included Andrzej Czernis, Maya Ahmed, Claire Stephens, Natalie Francis, and Adela Ottermann.

HFW’s market-leading global shipping practice comprises more than 220 lawyers and Master Mariners throughout Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific, and the Americas, specialising in dry shipping, admiralty and crisis management, and transactional work for clients across the industry.

HFW has been in the Middle East since 2006 and now has 20 partners and 60 lawyers in total across its offices in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Kuwait City, and Riyadh, making it one of the largest and longest-standing practices of any international law firm in the region. The firm launched a new entity in Saudi Arabia in 2024 as it continues to expand its offering in the Kingdom.