Jones Act/US Flag Deal of the Year

The Jones Act/US Flag award recognized Reed Smith's role as legal counsel to Maritime Partners LLC in its acquisition of Centerline Logistics Corporation, one of the largest U.S. operators of Jones Act-qualified liquid petroleum barges. The acquisition expanded Maritime Partners' petroleum transport, articulated tugs and barges, ship assist, escort, and rescue towing services, and their West Coast operations.

 “This deal brought together lawyers from across our transportation, corporate, finance, securitization, and regulatory practices (among others) to deliver a seamless result for the client. That kind of cross-disciplinary collaboration is central to how we serve the maritime industry and reflects our commitment to the sector,” agreed Jim Mercadante, partner in Reed Smith’s Global Corporate Group, and Han Deng, partner in Reed Smith’s Transportation Industry Group. “Our team’s unique combination of deep and broad experience in acquisitions, shipping and structured finance allowed us to guide the client through every dimension of this transformative transaction.”

The Reed Smith deal team was led by Jim Mercadante and included Seth Merl as leader of the acquisition team, Han Deng and Alice Colarossi as leaders of the Jones Act and maritime law team, and Jeffrey Stern as leader of the structured finance team.  Other team members covered environmental compliance, real estate, tax, litigation, labor, employee benefits, insurance, and antitrust aspects.