Transportation: Shipping: Finance & Non-Contentious | Global

HFW is well known for its distinguished UAE shipping practice, which represents an array of clients, including P&I clubs, shipping lines and financial institutions. It specialises in admiralty and casualty response work, as well as advising on shipping finance, and sale and purchase arrangements. Its lawyers also have complementary strengths in insurance matters. Clients benefit from the firm's significant regional footprint, as well as its substantial Arabic-speaking team.

Watson Farley & Williams is especially noted for its work in the area of shipping finance, representing an international roster of banks, ship-owners and charterers. The team regularly advises on major transactions in this space, including vessel financing and purchases. The finance group is supported by an increasingly respected disputes team, which has years of experience in maritime cases.

Dentons is a key name for ship finance in the UAE, advising a number of major financiers on sophisticated transactions. With its shipping expertise primarily based in Abu Dhabi, the firm's lawyers provide advice on both Islamic and conventional financing, and are well versed in a broad range of mandates, including lease financing and syndicated loans. Its clients include national and international financial institutions.

The Stephenson Harwood shipping department advises on a variety of contentious and non-contentious matters. On the non-contentious side it is well versed in ship finance and leveraged buyout arrangements, as well as corporate matters occurring within the shipping sector. The dispute resolution team's expertise includes cases arising from ship arrests, vessel abandonment and oil spills, and the firm is further noted for its handling of arbitrations and English High Court proceedings relating to breaches of shipbuilding contracts and commodity trading agreements.