John F. Imhof Jr.

John F. Imhof Jr. is well known for structuring practical and efficient, commercial maritime finance and investment transactions for lenders, lessors, investors, borrowers and lessees involving domestic and international maritime transportation, offshore and energy assets.

His experience includes a wide variety of ships, offshore drilling rigs, inland barges, shipping containers and related infrastructure. International and domestic banks, shipowners, private equity funds, hedge funds and leasing companies have called on John for over 30 years to advise on a wide variety of maritime finance and investment issues, particularly those involving U.S., Marshall Islands, and Liberian-flagged vessels and business associations, and complex regulatory matters relating to the Jones Act and U.S. government maritime programs. He has advised on complex syndicated senior secured, mezzanine and subordinated loan facilities, securitizations, note offerings, export-credit facilities, single-investor and leveraged leases, sale-leaseback transactions and restructurings.

John advises clients on a variety of financings, including loan agreements, charters, and ship mortgages under the laws of numerous flag states involving diverse maritime, offshore and related assets. He also advises on investments in maritime, offshore and associated infrastructure businesses, including investments in joint ventures, preferred equity and distressed debt.

John’s innovative legal solutions are a product of his years as a lawyer in transportation, equipment finance and energy-related sectors, including aviation, oil and gas, conventional and renewable power generation, and power transmission. He is a frequent speaker and published author on U.S. and Marshall Islands maritime finance, the Jones Act and U.S. maritime regulation.

Experience

• Advising on a US$750 million deferred-draw warehouse loan facility for Maritime Partners, LLC, secured by a fleet of ten U.S.-flagged, coastwise- (Jones Act-) qualified medium-range product/chemical tankers, three U.S.-flagged non-coastwise-qualified product/chemical tankers, and one U.S.-flagged, non-coastwise-qualified service vessel, together with related bareboat charters and rights arising from U.S. government contracts. The transaction has been recognized as Marine Money's 2024 Deal of the Year for Securitization.
• Guiding Villa Vie Residences Incorporated, a leading innovator in modern-day residential cruising, across various aspects of its business, including Villa Vie’s internal reorganization and the acquisition and financing of its first vessel, the Bahamas-flagged, 650-passenger luxury residential cruise vessel ODYSSEY.
• Advising Maritime Partners, LLC, as sponsor, on a term securitization transaction involving the Rule 144A issuance of US$235 million in vessel notes secured by 316 U.S.-flagged, coastwise- (Jones Act-) qualified inland barges and towboats. The transaction is considered to be the first capital markets asset-backed securities issuance backed entirely by inland marine vessels and won recognition as Marine Money's 2023 Deal of the Year for Securitization.
• Advising a major bank in various roles, including as administrative agent, collateral agent and security trustee, on Marshall Islands and U.S. maritime law regarding a senior secured revolving credit facility, a term-loan facility and a payment-in-kind toggle note indenture in an aggregate amount exceeding US$628 million, all secured by a fleet of thirteen Marshall Islands-flagged offshore drilling rigs and drill ships.
• Structuring and documenting a joint venture between a German private equity fund and a U.S. investor for the acquisition from an insolvent owner of beneficial interests in two U.S.-flagged 19,000 DWT multipurpose heavy-lift vessels enrolled in the U.S. Maritime Security Program and on bareboat charter to a New Orleans-based ship manager.
• Advising a New York-based shipowner on a US$75 million Sinosure-backed syndicated term loan facility established by leading U.S. and Chinese banks to finance three newbuild 25,000 DWT ECO-class Marshall Islands-flagged stainless steel chemical carriers upon delivery from a Chinese shipyard.