Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright has advised BNP Paribas, a syndicate of lenders, SACE and SIMEST on the financing of four new cruise vessels for Viking Ocean Cruises.
The financing consists of four export credit loan facilities, which are together worth around $2 billion. The facilities are backed by Italian export credit agency SACE and contain a fixed rate subsidy offered by SIMEST.
The ocean-going passenger cruise vessels are being constructed at Fincantieri S.p.A. and are the 17th to 20th ocean cruise vessels to be built for Viking. Norton Rose Fulbright has advised the lenders, SACE and SIMEST on fourteen of these financings.
Partner Simon Hartley, who led the Norton Rose Fulbright team working on the transaction, said:
“This is the third such deal that we have worked on for our clients, involving the financing of new vessels in Viking Ocean Cruise’s growing fleet. This latest transaction, which is the first for Viking since it went public last year, demonstrates the ongoing high confidence in the passenger cruise sector that we are seeing across all sub-sectors, including the luxury segment in which Viking operates.”
Simon Hartley was supported by counsel Matthew Bambury and associate Jennifer Carr in the firm’s London office. Arturo Sferruzza, a partner in the firm’s Milan office, advised on Italian law aspects relating to the SACE export credit arrangements.
Norton Rose Fulbright’s shipping team offers the full range of legal services needed by today’s shipping companies. The team are particularly well known for their cruise sector expertise, acting for some of the largest, most renowned industry participants on both the operator and lender side. The team recently advised lenders on the financing of two Orient Express cruise ships, an ECA-backed financing of Royal Caribbean’s latest “Oasis Class” vessel “Utopia of the Seas” and an ECA-backed financing for two new LNG-powered ‘World Class’ cruise vessels for MSC Cruises.
The firm’s is globally recognised for having leading Shipping and Ship Finance practices. Simon Hartley is named as a Band 1 practitioner for shipping finance in Chambers Global 2025 and as a Leading Partner for Transport Finance and Leasing in the Legal 500, with Matthew Bambury listed as a Leading Associate / Rising Star in the same category.
