WFW advises Teekay LNG JV on $1.6 billion financing for Yamal Arc7 carriers

International law firm Watson Farley & Williams said Thursday it had advised Teekay LNG Partners and its joint venture partner China LNG Shipping on the $1.6 billion long-term financing for the construction of six Arc7 LNG carrier newbuildings.

All the ships will be built at South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering.

Once completed these 172,410-cbm vessels will have 2.1 metre icebreaking capabilities in both forward and reverse and will service the recently commissioned Novatek-operated Yamal LNG project under charter contracts out to 2045.

The first vessel is expected to start its charter contract in January 2018.

The Yamal LNG project includes three LNG trains with a total expected capacity of 16.5 million mt of LNG per annum and year-round transit across Arctic sea routes from the new terminal at Sabetta.

Completion of the financing at the end of last week also coincided with the first commercial LNG being dispatched from Yamal on the first of the fifteen Arc7 LNG carriers leaving Sabetta.

The WFW team advising Teekay LNG on the financing was led by Partner David Osborne assisted by Senior Associate Patrick Smith and Associate Natalia Golovataya, the law firm said.