Transport & Infrastructure

The Odessa-based ANK Law Firm impresses with its extensive list of port infrastructure projects, maritime and shipping work. Selected recent highlights include support HPC Ukraina, the operator of Odessa Port container terminal, member of HHLA Group, with a USD 500 million investment project on construction extension of the container terminal at Odessa Sea Port; support for a project to construct and reconstruct the sea approaching channel and inland waterways in the Sea Commercial Port Yuzhny. The firm advised leading owners and managers of sea transport and insurers on high-profile accidents; provided administrative litigation support and support in sale and purchase deals. The team recently protected the interests of Gloria Shipping Pte Ltd, member of WILMAR International Group, in a dispute with Ecological Inspectorate on a palm oil spill; supported the Turkish Karadeniz Ro-Ro, operator of ferry lines connecting Ukraine and the Russian Federation with Turkey, in enforcement proceeding (against the Administration of Sea Ports of Ukraine); advised sellers of the vessel in a sale and purchase deal with a subsequent sea mortgage. Clients include Alphatrans, Arkas, Bulcom, CMA CGM Ukraine, Columbia Shipmanagement GmbH, Damco, British Marine, Ingosstrakh, Lodestar Marine Limited, TT Club and many. The firm’s founder, Alexander Kifak, is a top recognized professional with excellent reference from peers. Artem Volkov, head of maritime and transport law practice, is another highly recognized figure.

 

Interlegal, theOdessa-based niche outfit, attracts a vast range of clients, including ship and cargo owners, insurers, charterers, lessees. Expertise of the firm comprises a comprehensive range of maritime, shipping, transportation and logistics intersecting with matters of international trade. The dedicated team handles a wide spectrum of liability and commercial matters including claims related to port charges and cargoes, release of ships in Ukrainian ports, disputes as for cargo condition and demurrage of vessels. The team has recently represented the interests of ship owners in USD 15.5 million damages recovery from a shipyard. Notably, the team has unique expertise in yachting. Kirina Riashentseva renders legal assistance to private clients in yacht sale-purchase and yacht building deals. Arthur Nitsevych, Nikolay Melnykov and Artem Skorobogatov are acknowledged as standout names in maritime and shipping. Last year Interlegal enhanced its presence in the Black Sea region by opening an office in Istanbul, Turkey.

 

Ilyashev & Partners is recognized in rendering advice to a wide range of aviation and maritime sector players. The principal clients of the firm are these regulars: FSC More, Feodosiya shipbuilding company, State aircraft construction enterprise Antonov. The team regularly supports clients in litigations, bankruptcy, tax and customs, finance matters. One of the most important highlights was acting for FSC More in bankruptcy proceedings and crisis management, including representation in major litigations. Roman Marchenko, senior partner, was appointed by the Ministry of Industrial Policy of Ukraine and the Court of Crimea as a crisis manager for the client. Partner Maksym Kopeychykov advised SE Antonov in challenging in court the results of audits and inspections by tax and customs authorities.

 

ECOVIS Bondar & Bondar Law Bureau demonstrates strong dedication to the aviation sector with specific strength in litigation. The bureau represented Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) in a commercial dispute brought by Boryspil International Airport on collection of debt for non-contractual ground handling services and in a dispute with Swissport International Ltd with regard to participatory interest in Interavia LLC on reassessment the decision recognizing UIA’s title over Interavia LLC. Further, the team successfully represented AIRO Catering Services Ukraine (Lufthansa group) in a dispute with Boryspil Airport in a case regarding unfair competition. Oleg Bondar, managing partner, and Oleksandr Povar, senior associate, are the main figures.

 

The expertise possessed by the full service Ukrainian law firm Asters covers an array of diverse transportation matters, including settlement disputes in domestic and foreign jurisdictions, corporate and commercial work, advertising and unfair competition matters. The firm is rapidly expanding its aviation presence and dedicated clientele. It continued broad-based advising of Wizz Air Ukraine Airlines. Asters acted as a local counsel to VTG Aktiengesellschaft on formation of European rail logistics joint venture with international logistics provider Kuhne+Nagel in Ukraine. Partners Vadym Samoilenko, Tamara Lukanina and Svitlana Chepurna are involved in projects across their practice areas.

 

Baker & McKenzie represented bid leaders, consortium partners or their lenders in most of the recent large PPP projects. The Kiev office benefits from the global expertise of the firm in the development of infrastructure projects. Among the recent highlights is acting as Ukrainian law counsel to the European Investment Bank in connection with its EUR 55 million loan to the State Administration of Railway Transport of Ukraine (Ukrzaliznytsia) and the related sovereign guarantee to finance the construction of a new twin-track railway tunnel in Ukraine located in the Carpathian Mountains. Serhiy Piontkovsky, co-managing partner, heads the real estate and construction and energy, mining and infrastructure practice groups in Kiev.

 

Vasil Kisil & Partners enjoys consistence presence in landmark transport infrastructure work. For example, the firm advised FHI360 (USAID) on the project for construction of Kiev City Ring Road toll road; and in cooperation with Egis advised Ukravtodor on launching concession tender for construction of Lviv-Krakovets toll road. Main figures of the team are partners Oleg Alyoshin, Alexander Borodkin, and counsellor Volodymyr Igonin.

 

The international resource of DLA Piper enables to bring the international best practices of port concessions. The Kiev team is currently working on one of the largest port modernization and concession projects in Southern Ukraine. The port is envisaged for use in cargo transshipment after being given to concession. Oleksandr Kurdydyk and Natalia Kochergina, partners as well as Rodion Ignatenko and Sergiy Portnoy, senior associates, are key practitioners.

 

With its regional network of offices in Lviv and Odessa, Arzinger is traditionally present in both transport and infrastructure projects. The firm recently handled representation of interests of a famous Kazakh carrier in a dispute on reasons of a resonant railway accident with Ukrzaliznytsia. The firm is experienced in port infrastructure and supports the construction of a grain terminal in the port of Yuzhny. The 5-lawyer team is led by Andriy Selyutin, counsel and head of its South-Ukrainian branch.

 

Given its global presence Dentons assist top international clients. The Kiev practice, as led by the managing partner Oleg Batyuk, has demonstrated a peculiarly rich client workload. This, among others, covered various corporate and commercial law matters, tax, customs, real estate, regulatory and competition issues, trademark protection, loans recovery, disputes representation.

 

In 2014, Sayenko Kharenko worked for a sizeable pool of transport and infrastructure clients on finance, M&A, dispute resolution and regulatory compliance projects. The recent highlights include representing the lender on a USD 155 million syndicated pre-export facility to Transoil Group, actively investing into oil infrastructure, roads, railroads, and pipelines; advising on the merger of the world’s largest shipping companies to create the fourth largest liner shipping company in the world. The international arbitration team headed by Tatyana Slipachuk advised one of the largest shipbuilding enterprises in Eastern Europe on the risks and perspectives of arbitration before the Danish Institute of Arbitration, as well as in a dispute with the ship owner on the alleged breach of a hull contract. The firm is currently advising a leading Turkish construction and infrastructure company on the enforcement of an ICC arbitral award in Ukraine. In the aviation sector, the firm advised a subsidiary of a global private equity firm investing in aerospace and aviation, on tax and regulatory in connection with the sale and lease of aircrafts. The litigation team represents one of the largest European air companies in a series of disputes with the State Aviation Administration of Ukraine. Partners Nazar Chernyavsky and Vladimir Sayenko are the firm’s key practitioners in the field.

 

CMS Cameron McKenna is known for standout infrastructure projects experience with particular focus on finance matters. The Kiev team led by Daniel Bilak is actively supporting financing of municipal infrastructure throughout the country; competition and corporate law advice.

 

Ukrainian law firm FCLEX is active in dispute resolution, tax, corporate law and M&A, financing, project development, administrative law and regulatory compliance. Standing clients include one of the largest iron ore producers in Europe − Ferrexpo, with the largest Ukrainian mining complexes; the largest domestic machine-building enterprises AutoKrAZ (the largest manufacturer of trucks in Ukraine), the shipyard Zalyv, Stakhanovskyy car production factory and others. Recent significant projects include advising PJSC AvtoKrAZ on USD 340 million debt restructuring; the bankruptcy case of Mykolayiv shipyard Okean. Partners Viktor Barsuk and Oleg Malinevskiy are team leaders.

 

Avellum Partners is traditionally engaged in significant corporate projects, notably M&A deals. Clients came from the domestic arena. The team advised Ferrexpo in connection with acquisition of an electrified railway and a power line by one of its Ukrainian subsidiaries — LLC Ferrexpo Yeristovo Mining. Partners Glib Bondar and Kostiantyn Likarchuk are the main points of contact.

 

Misechko & Partners advises large transport and logistics companies, representing interests of owners of vehicles, freight forwarders, shippers and receivers. This domestic team has of late acted in litigation and high profile contractual work. The firm, as led by managing partner Volodymyr Misechko, continued to provide legal support to Panalpina World Transport Ltd, global leader in cargo forwarding and represented it in various litigations on debt collection for rendered transport services, exaction of insurance compensation for damaged cargo, lease agreement at Boryspil Airport.

 

Gvozdiy & Oberkovych is a strong team with particular experience in litigation. For example, the team represented Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG in a USD 1.2 million debt recovery dispute with a Ukrainian aircraft company; supported Odessa Automotive Plant in a number of disputes. The Ukrainian subsidiary of Aviareps AG, the world’s leading tourism and airline sales and marketing company, attracted the firm for corporate, commercial and labor law advice; South Airlines in connection with aircraft acquisition of an AN-12 in Crimea, including customs clearance procedure and drafting repair works agreement. Title partners Valentyn Gvozdiy and Sergiy Oberkovych led the practice, which was supported by senior associates Maksym Lebedev, Iryna Kalnytska and Natalia Mysnyk.

 

Jurimex Law Firm advises managers and executors on state road construction projects. Expertise includes contractual work, advisory on PPP, disputes. Recent representation of the firm includes rendering legal support to High-Point Rendel, international consultant, on conclusion of a contract on consultancy on the state regulation of road industry and reforms of the industry; representing Spetsbudkontakt LLC in the dispute on debt recovery for constructed roads with the State Road Service in Dnepropetrovsk Region. Jurimex stands out for its advice in the touristic field for its standing client — Travel Professional Group. Partners Bohdan Shapoval and Oleksandr Shyshkanov are the lead partners.

AstapovLawyers international law group has a strong focus on corporate matters in the infrastructure field. In 2014 the team, as led by Oleh Malskyy, partner and head of corporate and M&A practice, advised on issues as to infrastructural construction and joint ventures.

 

Gramatskiy & Partners customarily supports cardinal infrastructure projects concerning reconstruction of facilities of communal services and delivery of associated process equipment. The 2014 list of principal clients includes Teploengineering, Danfoss and Ulma Opalubka Ukraine. Yuriy Zabiyaka, Igor Reutov and Olexiy Grishko are themain practitioners.

 

Clifford Chance is commended as a knowledgeable counsel for project finance work, especially in the area of port infrastructure. Olexiy Soshenko is a key figure.

 

The team of established past year AEQUO is focused on finance matters in the area of port infrastructure. Denis Lysenko and Yulia Kyrpa are the lead partners.

With its following from German clients, domestic law firm NOBLES advised DKV Mobility Services Group on regulatory legal issues and tax matters in Ukraine. Among recent work is advising AJ Walter Aviation Limited, a supplier of spare parts for aircraft, on returning supplied stock by a Ukrainian airline that had become insolvent; Zooplus AG, a stock-listed e-commerce enterprise specialising in pet food, on logistics structure for Ukraine and adjacent countries, including cross border delivery between Russia and Ukraine. Alexander Weigelt is the key contact.

 

Marchenko Danevych is known in the aviation area and representation of the Turkish airline company AtlasJet before the court in a high-profile case that was initiated by Ukraine International Airlines. Dmitrieva & Partners provided legal support to Inflot-Universal, marine company (Kerch, Crimea) on registration of a company carrying out shipping. The Kharkov-based Shkrebets & Partners conducted complex due diligence of the municipal enterprise Zhylkomservis (Kharkov city) as to the legality of business activity in the sphere of the housing and utilities services. Vladimir Zubar from Jurline Law Firm was mentioned in the poll.