Energy, LNG/LPG and Cables

An Integrated Team Approach Honed to Your Project

Holland & Knight's Energy and LNG/LPG Team is a multi-disciplinary group of professionals with expertise in project finance; environmental, regulatory and maritime law; and energy litigation. Recognizing that each of these legal disciplines is important when taking on a large-scale LNG project, we are equipped to provide you with a team designed specifically with your needs in mind.

Your Needs are Served Through Our Diverse Experience and Global Support

Whether you are involved with terminals ashore or offshore deepwater ports, Holland & Knight maritime attorneys possess the skills necessary to represent you. Our experience includes:

• all forms of project finance, including equity investment, vendor finance and foreign government involvement
• facility and infrastructure development
• EPC contracting, and specialty equipment procurement
• long-term supply contracts and LNG Sale and Purchase Agreements (SPAs)
• spot cargo agreements, including both FOB and CIF terms
• marketing, trading and risk management techniques, including instruments such as contracts for delivery, swaps and derivatives
• homeland and maritime security requirements under international maritime law, and concomitant provisions of the U.S. Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002

With offices located around the world, plus a network of foreign correspondent counsel and over 550 alumni from our foreign lawyer trainee program (LINK), worldwide representation is at your fingertips.

Full Scope of Services for Managing Your Submarine Cable Project

We provide you with a full array of regulatory, transactional and litigation legal services across the entire spectrum of undersea cable system projects. A team of communications, maritime, environmental, real estate, land use and energy attorneys provides assistance in telecommunications, electrical power, scientific and military cable system projects.

Our maritime attorneys utilize knowledge and experience in cable matters that span the entire industry - from marine surveys to U.S. and overseas cable landing licenses and state and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permits; to construction and maintenance agreements, indefeasible right-of-use and collocation contracts, vessel and ROV/AUV charters; to fault litigation.

Holland & Knight's integrated services encompass the following areas and skills:

• cable regulatory
• cable construction and maintenance
• cable fault litigation
• cable and infrastructure security

Representative Cases - LNG/LPG

• financing new building construction of LNG Carriers and specialty tugboats, including structured finance and synthetic leasing transactions
• representation of LPG trading company in disputes under purchase and sales contracts from suppliers
• arbitration by LPG time chartered owner with head owner and voyage charter in maritime arbitration
• bareboat and time charter party agreements and contracts of affreightment
• ship management agreements
• negotiating ship construction contracts and security for the yard's obligations
• all aspects of regulatory compliance, including ship security, cargo manifesting, and vessel crew requirements, U.S. Certificates of Financial Responsibility (COFRs)
• international maritime convention compliance (IMO SOLAS, STCW, ISM, ISPS Code and other standards)
• discharge port requirements, including personal relationships with many United States Coast Guard Captains of the Port (COTPs)
• U.S. Department of Energy import licensing
• Jones Act requirements & impact on operations
• U.S. maritime regulatory ruling letters
• contracts with pilots, longshoreman, specialty tugs, and fireboats
• Society of International Gas Tanker & Terminal Operators (SIGTTO) guidelines
• maritime insurance advice, including potential “war-risk” riders
• immediate representation in the event of a maritime casualty provided by our Rapid Response Team
• representation of off-shore facilities governed by the Deepwater Port Act Amendments
• transfer of equity interest in liquefaction facility
• re-financing/synthetic lease of an LNG Carrier
• financing and chartering of specialty tugboats, with specially built fire-fighting equipment
• contract negotiation concerning an on-site (manufacturer’s facility) LNG satellite tank operation
• extensive contract advice and litigation assistance in relation to the construction of LNG vessels
• appeal of a DOT enforcement action for alleged regulatory compliance deficiencies associated with terminal operations and maintenance procedures, training and record-keeping
• litigation concerning LNG/C The Matthew brought by the City of Boston to block entry to the port after 9/11 and follow-up negotiations concerning security and fire protection.
• appeal of a USCG COTP order issued against the LNG/C The Matthew after 9/11
• contract dispute with LNG/C owner and operator over charter party agreement and out-of-service days
• contract dispute with the manufacturer of LNG submerged combustion vaporizers
• construction dispute with the design engineer of an LNG terminal expansion project
• regulatory approvals and court approval for an LNG import terminal
• representation of LNG Carrier damaged in maritime collision with a submarine
• representation of off-shore deepwater port terminal developer
• representation of an interstate natural gas pipeline company in connection with permitting and construction of a new pipeline serving an LNG facility
• representation of lenders in connection with the worldwide workouts of the Tidal marine, Colocotronis and Karavias fleets, including mortgage enforcement proceedings in the U.S. and 20 overseas jurisdictions
• lead regulatory counsel for a company that has proposed to construct a new pipeline to import regasified natural gas from an offshore LNG terminal to a location along the U.S. East Coast.
• contracts for the construction of LNG tankers and the use of these specialized ships after they are launched
• representation of equity participants in original Title XI leveraged lease financing for five LNG carriers and continued representation of equity interests throughout life of the bareboat charters

Representative Cases - Submarine Cables

• successful litigation in French and US courts on IRU dispute and landing rights for a new submarine cable system entering service in October 2006 in the Caribbean Ocean
• monitoring federal, state and international legislation and Administration policy in the telecommunication, security and maritime areas
• reviewing seller-drafted asset purchase agreements
• reviewing Cable & Maintenance (C&MA) contracts or drafting a new C&MA agreement
• reviewing IRU agreements to evaluate revenue from telecom services as distinguished from Operations & Maintenance (O&M) to determine long-term revenue prospects
• review of environmental obligations associated with existing and planned international, federal, and state licenses and permits
• review of cable fault incidents, repairs, and restoration to determine causes and potential liability, and handle related litigation
• review of fishing agreements, marine mammal, and other cable protection measures to ensure maximum value and legal compliance
• evaluating security protocols for cable systems with special focus on terrorist threats
• licensing and permitting associated with TPE, Unity, GCN-1, TAT-14, US-CHINA, US-Japan, Gemini, Southern Cross, Global Crossing, and various Alaska and Caribbean cable projects
• representing clients before the FCC, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, NOAA, U.S. Coast Guard, EPA, the California Coastal Commission, the Oregon Department of State Lands, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and before regulatory bodies in such countries as the United Kingdom, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, and a number of Caribbean and Asian nations, and before UNESCO
• acting as the International Cable Law Advisor for the International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC)
• drafting RFPs for cable maintenance and marine depot services for a major international telecommunications company
• survey of legal and environmental requirements for U.S. West Coast and Canadian landing sites
• handling repair permits with the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers in Puerto Rico territorial seas
• drafting EPC contracts for installation and related services for a submarine cable system for offshore oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico
• litigation in New York representing the owners of power cables damaged by a survey vessel
• litigation in Washington state representing a state utility company whose cables connecting an island were cut by a tug’s anchor
• litigation in New Jersey representing the owners of the US-Bermuda cable damaged by a fishing vessel
• litigation in New Jersey representing the owners of TAT-3, TAT-4 and TAT-7 against damage caused by fishing vessels
• litigation in New York representing the owners of TATs 4, 5 and 6 cut by a freighter’s anchor
• international arbitration representing the owners of TAT-10 for damage caused by a cable-laying vessel’s ROV
• litigation in Oregon presenting the NPC owners whose cable was cut by a trawler
• international arbitration to recover overcharges from a vessel provider under a cable maintenance agreement
• representing the debtor in the bankruptcy of a major international telecommunications company with respect to its interests in cable repair vessels and ROVs
• international tax assistance for U.S. and foreign submarine cable owners