Law firm Stephenson Harwood LLP has advised EnTrust Global’s Blue Ocean Funds (Entrust) on a $27,500,000 loan facility to PT Buana Lintas Lautan TBK (BULL).

The facility assisted with financing part of the purchase price for two tankers, which were acquired from Maersk in June 2020.

“We were pleased to have been able to advise long-standing client EnTrust on this important deal,” said Ian Mace, head of ship finance, Stephenson Harwood. “The documentation was completed during lockdown, and involved a challenging structure and a tight timeframe; this made the work additionally complex. As dedicated ship finance specialists, we were well-placed to navigate these challenges, and to bring a successful conclusion to all parties within the desired timetable.”

“We are very pleased to work with a high-quality counterparty like BULL and complete the financing of two crude tankers,” said Omer Donnerstein, managing director, EnTrust. “Since the beginning of the year EnTrust has advanced $59.1 million to BULL under two loan facilities which were documented by Stephenson Harwood. Ian and his team delivered outstanding service in this complex transaction, under a very tight timeframe and other limitations caused by the outbreak of COVID-19.”

“The transaction was on an accelerated timeline, but we never worried with Ian and his team in charge of the process,” said Kevin Wong, president director, BULL. “The combination of in-depth shipping knowledge and understanding of Entrust and ourselves as well as dedicated access at any time ensured a smooth closing.”

The loan agreement was cross-collateralised and cross-defaulted with an existing loan agreement between EnTrust and BULL, which was also documented by the Stephenson Harwood team.

The Stephenson Harwood team was led by partner Ian Mace, who was assisted by of counsel David Metzger and associate Roxanne Chambers.