During preparations for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, concerns arose that the capacity of the city’s existing hotels and those under construction would be insufficient to accommodate the Games’ guests and participants. Based on experience from other major international events, it was decided to charter several large passenger vessels to provide additional accommodation.
At the time, the Russian merchant fleet had virtually no seagoing cruise ships of the required class. The vessels therefore had to be chartered on the international market within a very limited timeframe. FSUE “Rosmorport” was appointed as the charterer and engaged a number of specialised organisations to assist with the successful planning and implementation of the project, including Jurinflot to provide legal support.
Jurinflot provided legal support to the charterer throughout the entire project — from the initial planning and preparation stage through to final settlement with the shipowners.
Our lawyers participated in negotiations with shipowners, port representatives, catering specialists and other parties involved in the project.
We advised on and negotiated the terms of the time charterparties, drafted the relevant agreements and provided legal support during delivery of the vessels into charter and their subsequent redelivery to the shipowners.
In addition to preparing a significant number of contracts and supporting legal documents, the project also required the development of several new regulations.
The charterer successfully fulfilled the task assigned to it by the Government of the Russian Federation. Within a limited timeframe, seven comfortable passenger cruise ships were chartered, providing high-quality accommodation for more than 10,000 guests of the Olympic Games.
The successful implementation of the project was recognised by the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation and the Federal Agency for Maritime and River Transport. Among other acknowledgements, two Jurinflot professionals received letters of appreciation from Rosmorrechflot.
