International legal practice Osborne Clarke has advised Babcock Marine & Technology of the Babcock International Group plc. on the acquisition of 50% of the OKEANOS Joint Venture from Bernhard Schulte Group. The transaction is subject to applicable merger clearance.

The OKEANOS Joint Venture will focus on the use and development of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a marine fuel. The joint venture has already ordered a gas-supply vessel (GSV), with a 7,500 cubic meter capacity from a shipyard in South Korea. The construction of the GSV will be completed in the first quarter of 2018. It will be chartered in the area of the Baltic Sea at  the end of 2018. The GSV will be the first vessel of its kind to utilize certain highly specialized technology owned by Babcock.

Babcock is the UK’s leading engineering support services organization. The Bernhard Schulte Group is a Hamburg-based leading, family owned ship owner and ship manager.

A team lead by Corporate Partner Dr Fabian L. Christoph advised Babcock on the transaction. The team also included Dr Thomas Funke (Antitrust), Simon Spooner, Dr Thies Goldner, Damocles Merry, Alexandra M. Nautsch (all Corporate) and Ghazale Mandegarian (Commercial).

The transaction was supervised in-house by Ashley Axten (Deputy General Counsel) and Andrew Feather (Legal Adviser, Solicitor) for Babcock and by Max Asschenfeldt (Corporate Counsel) for Bernhard Schulte.

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