Clifford Chance has advised Ceona on a USD$290 million secured debt facility to finance its two new build projects, the Ceona Amazon offshore installation vessel and a vertical pipelay system for the Polar Onyx vessel, along with performance bonds to further support Ceona's growth initiatives.

The Ceona Amazon will be constructed by Lloyd Werft Bremerhaven. Furthermore, there are subcontracts in place with Crist yard in Poland for the construction of the hull and with Huisman in the Netherlands for the construction of vertical pipelay systems for the Amazon and Polar Onyx vessels.

The ECA-covered term loan facility is underwritten by ABN Amro Bank N.V. and KfW IPEX-Bank, and is backed by Atradius Dutch State Business, Euler Hermes and Kuke as export credit insurers.

Ceona is a SURF and heavy subsea construction contractor in the deepwater market, specialising in full-service engineering, pipelay and construction project management and execution, including floater installation (Semi, TLP, SPAR). With backing from majority shareholder Goldman Sachs Capital Partners, Ceona is developing its fleet of state-of-the-art vessels. It has offices in London, Aberdeen and Houston.

The Clifford Chance team was led by partner Dr. Florian Mahler (Düsseldorf) and comprised partner Riko Vanezis, senior associate Stephen Chance, associate Sarah O'Toole (all Frankfurt) and associate Bahar Rahimyar (Düsseldorf) – all Project Finance and Asset Finance – as well as partner Dan Neidle, associate Nicola Hemsley (both Tax, London), partner Anne Drakeford and associate David Neu (both Derivatives, London).