Conor Warde

Conor Warde is a partner in the Hong Kong office and the Head of Asset Finance – Asia. He is admitted in Hong Kong, England & Wales, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the US jurisdictions of Maryland and Washington, DC. He has a diverse practice advising clients on transactional, corporate, regulatory and policy matters with particular experience in ship finance and maritime transactional matters. He represents companies, commercial lenders, lessors, lessees and investors in international financings, M&A, restructurings and other corporate transactions across multiple industries and involving a broad range of corporate finance and investment issues, including senior and subordinated debt financings, asset-based lending transactions, and private equity investments.

Conor also has significant experience in representing owners and operators of vessels and other maritime and offshore interests, primarily with regard to private equity and ship and other asset financing transactions; ship sale and purchase and shipbuilding contracts; international and US-specific regulatory compliance; offshore drilling contracts and regulatory matters; international sanctions regimes; and pollution incident response and criminal prosecutions. Conor has been actively involved as a lawyer in the maritime industry since 2004 and has been based in Asia since 2011. He has spoken and moderated panels at a number of conferences around the world and is an active contributor to various publications and media.

Relevant experience

• Minsheng Financial Leasing Co., Ltd. and certain of its subsidiaries in connection with a French court-approved restructuring of the Bourbon Maritime Group.
• China Development Bank Financial Leasing Co., Ltd. in the USD 422m sale/leaseback of 14 product tankers with Maersk Product Tankers, which was awarded the 2020 Marine Money Leasing Deal of the Year.
• A leading private alternative asset manager as junior lender in the USD 41,560,000 term loan refinancing of a leasing structure involving two car-carrier vessels.
• A consortium of investors in the refinancing of an LNG carrier in connection with one of the largest LNG projects in South Asia.
• One of the largest Chinese leasing houses on a multi-vessel lease financing for a UK-based shipowner.
• A large Chinese financial leasing institution in the USD 60m sale/leaseback arrangements of eight vessels owned by subsidiaries of Nanjing Ocean Shipping Co., Ltd.
• A major Chinese financial institution in relation to the USD 175m lease financing of one F&G JU2000E jack-up drilling rig built in China to a large Indonesian drilling contractor and operator, which was awarded by Marine Money Offshore as 2014 Leasing Deal of the Year.
• A European lender in relation to a loan facility provided to a Singapore-listed shipping group in relation to the re-financing of four vessels.
• A leading Chinese leasing company on the acquisition of two special purpose vehicles from another major Chinese leasing company and subsequent lease and bank financing of two newbuilding containerships to a well-known European operator.
• A major Chinese financial institution in relation to the financing of 15 MR product tankers chartered to a major Korean shipping group.
• A Hong Kong financial institution in multiple significant financings to provide funding for international investment portfolios.
• A large Chinese leasing company on the lease financing of two bulk carriers chartered to a Chinese shipping group.
• A major Chinese financial institution in relation to the bank and lease financing of an asphalt and bitumen carrier bareboat chartered to an American shipping group.
• A large Chinese leasing company in connection with a financing involving 10 bulk carriers built in China.
• A large Chinese bank in relation to the pre-delivery and post-delivery financing of two Handymax bulk carriers under construction at a major Chinese shipyard.
• One of the world’s leading private equity firms in a joint venture with a large Asia-based shipping group.
• A Swiss financial institution on a USD 300m financing of drilling rigs and offshore supply vessels.

Memberships & Roles

• Marshall Islands Quality Council of the Marshall Islands Shipping Registry
• Georgetown University Alumni Admissions Program

Education

• JD, The George Washington University Law School
• BA, Georgetown University