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As members of our renowned Global Transportation Finance (GTF) group, the lawyers in our maritime practice use their diverse knowledge and experience to create efficient and innovative legal solutions for clients in a unique, highly specialized and capital-intensive industry. From offices in North America, Europe and Asia, we handle a wide range of cross-border transactions, frequently involving multiple parties across multiple jurisdictions. 

Our command of the full spectrum of maritime and offshore transactions and asset classes gives us a unique perspective on the markets that is important to all of our clients. Our lawyers represent nearly all segments of the maritime and offshore industries throughout the world, delivering advice under U.S. and English and Marshall Islands law, and have extensive familiarity with the corporate and maritime laws of other leading open registries, including Liberia and Vanuatu. This insight gives us an unequaled ability to take a practical, market-based approach to transactions and to provide efficient, insightful legal advice, while maintaining a results oriented focus. Clients turn to us for practical, market-based advice that is tailored to their specific business objectives.

Our maritime and maritime finance lawyers are also able to draw on the experience of colleagues in our other practice groups, including mergers and acquisitions, structured finance, capital markets, insolvency, environmental regulation, international trade, labor and employment, intellectual property, tax and dispute resolution, to provide maritime and maritime finance industry clients with comprehensive and thorough advice on all aspects of their businesses and activities.

Our experience includes advising clients on:

  • Asset securitization
  • Bilateral lending
  • Charters
  • Coastwise regulation, including the Jones Act and the Passenger Vessel Services Act
  • Export-credit structures
  • Finance leases
  • Insolvencies, workouts and corporate reorganization
  • Joint ventures
  • Litigation and arbitration
  • Maritime liens
  • Port and terminal regulation
  • Private placements, including 144A and Reg S offerings
  • Public offerings and listings
  • Regulation under the American Fisheries Act
  • Sale-leaseback transactions
  • Securitization
  • Ship management agreements
  • Syndicated and club lending
  • U.S. government maritime programs
  • Vessel sales and purchases
  • Vessel mortgages
  • Vessel registration and documentation
Tier 2: Industry Focus: Transport: Shipping — Finance, 2018-2026
- The Legal 500 United States
Band 3 in Transportation: Shipping/Maritime: Finance, 2021-2026
- Chambers USA
Tier 1 in National Equipment Finance Law and Tier 2 National Admiralty and Maritime Law, 2013-2024
- U.S. News—Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms"
“Vedder has deep expertise and fluency in both relevant Marshall Islands law and financial matters relevant to mortgages on maritime vessels.”
- Chambers USA, 2026
“Vedder has a knowledgeable attorney team with deep knowledge of transportation, commodities and maritime sectors”
- Chambers USA, 2026
"The team is very commercial-minded and easy to deal with and experienced in shipping."
- Legal 500 USA, 2026

Global Transportation Finance Newsletter

May 2026 Issue

Covering the latest in legal updates for global transportation finance.

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