William C.Baldwin
- Position
- Partner
- Office
- New Orleans
Will Baldwin is co-leader of the firm’s Maritime Industry Team and leader of the firm’s maritime transactional team, where he focuses on maritime transactions and marine finance. Will also serves as co-chair of the firm’s offshore wind initiative.
Will advises and represents clients on a wide range of complex marine transactional matters, including financings, ship mortgages, the purchase and sale of marine assets, Jones Act compliance, and governmental approval for maritime restructurings. He has experience negotiating offshore vessel construction and rebuild agreements, charter parties, and various offshore support services agreements.
In the marine finance area, Will is frequently called on to counsel clients in complex ocean and inland domestic and international vessel financings and flagging of vessels in the US and in open registries such as Liberia, Marshall Islands, and Vanuata. Will has over a decade of experience representing borrowers, lenders, and agents as maritime counsel in marine finance deals ranging from less than $100 million to multiple deals in excess of $1 billion. He also handles leveraged lease financing deals involving marine assets.
On the project development side, Will advises on commercial and regulatory matters that involve maritime-related issues. Will’s practice in the project development space includes both pre-operational and operational advice, primarily in connection with terminals and facilities with water access. He has experience with terminaling agreements, throughput agreements, port liability agreements, tug services agreements, and berthing agreements. His experience includes representing a port in the development of a multibillion-dollar container terminal along the Lower Mississippi River.
In the offshore energy space, he represents multiple stakeholders in the offshore wind industry, including the developer of the first potential commercial-scale offshore wind farm in the Gulf of Mexico. Will was a lead attorney for the project, which included a projected $4 billion to $5 billion capital expenditure, with grid connection and alternative energy offtake plans. Will also represents joint venture partners, vessel owners and operators, and other maritime participants in the marine supply chain for offshore wind in the United States, on the east coast, Gulf of Mexico, and west coast. He has been engaged on the front-end of multiple marine financings and related transactional matters for new, purpose-built vessels in the United States offshore wind market.
Noteworthy
- The Best Lawyers in America®, Admiralty and Maritime Law, Transportation Law (listed annually since 2021)
- Chambers USA, Marine Finance (listed annually since 2021); Transportation: Shipping/Maritime: Finance (listed annually since 2022)
- The Legal 500 United States, Transport: Shipping – Finance (listed annually since 2018)
- New Orleans Magazine, Top Lawyer (2023)
- Louisiana Super Lawyers, Transportation/Maritime (listed annually since 2023); "Rising Star," Transportation/Maritime (2016–2022)
Experience
Marine Finance and Transactions
- Maritime counsel for publicly traded OSV owner and operator in a $1.25 billion merger that created the largest fleet in the offshore support vessel industry
- US maritime and Liberian counsel for a borrower/debtor in connection with a $1.024 billion exit financing secured by ship mortgages on seven Liberian-flagged drill ships
- US maritime and Marshall Islands counsel for debtors in Chapter 11 restructuring regarding preferred ship mortgages on 13 Marshall Islands–flagged rigs, to secure $675 million in exit financing and shedding more than $2 billion in debt
- Maritime counsel for first lien lenders in Chapter 11 restructuring regarding preferred ship mortgages on 19 Liberian-flagged drill ships and rigs, to secure exit financing of $675 million and shed more than $1 billion in existing debt
- Maritime counsel for a borrower in connection with a $350 million indenture secured by ship mortgages on offshore supply vessels flagged in the United States, Vanuatu, Mexico, and Isle of Man
- Maritime counsel for seller of 123 barges and 36 towboats in equity purchase transaction
- Maritime counsel for buyer of specialized US tanker fleet
- Jones Act and maritime counsel for buyer of shipyard assets and related vessels in a transaction valued at more than $2 billion
- Counsel for lessee of open-hopper, covered-hopper, and tank barge fleet in numerous lease financings under long-term bareboat charters
Offshore Wind
- Maritime and Jones Act counsel to private equity–backed startup wind turbine installation vessel owner and EPC contractor, providing finance advice (including MARAD Title XI financing) and contract and supplier advice, including on shipyard agreements
- A lead project counsel for a developer in connection with planned offshore wind farm(s) in state waters off the coast of Louisiana
- Counsel to a vessel owner in connection with negotiation of construction of potential Jones Act–qualified wind turbine installation vessel for the US offshore wind industry
- Maritime counsel to a vessel owner for purpose-built vessels for offshore wind, including advice relating to construction and permanent financing, shipyard agreements, charter parties, Inflation Reduction Act tax credits for wind vessels, and Jones Act compliance
Project Development
- Represent developer of a port and terminal energy complex in Louisiana with a focus on offshore wind manufacturing. As project counsel, Jones Walker advises on issues relating to corporate matters, including entity formation and potential equity investment; real estate and related areas; finance; government relations; utility and other service contracts; construction; and maritime.
- Represent a port in connection with greenfield development of a multibillion-dollar container terminal. As project counsel, Jones Walker advises on issues relating to real estate and related areas; public-private partnerships; permitting; federal government relations; utility and other service contracts; construction; and maritime.
Litigation
- Acted as trial and appellate counsel for a vessel owner in a vessel arrest proceeding arising out of maritime lien claims related to the financial collapse of the OW Bunker conglomerate; obtained judgment following bench trial in favor of the vessel owner against the fuel supplier for the supplier’s maritime lien claim. The trial court judgment was affirmed by the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Barcliff, LLC d/b/a Radcliff/Economy Marine Services v. M/V DEEP BLUE, 876 F.3d 1063 (11th Cir. 2017); Barcliff, LLC d/b/a Radcliff/Economy Marine Services v. M/V DEEP BLUE, 2016 WL 5660934 (S.D. Al. Sept. 28, 2016).
- Represent clients in numerous actions involving the enforcement of ship mortgages, purchase of vessel on credit bid at a US Marshal's sale, and the sale to a third party. State Bank & Trust Co. v. C&G Liftboats, LLC, __ F.3d __, 2018 WL 4998233 (5th Cir. Oct. 16, 2018).
- Represent maritime lien claimants in vessel seizure actions, sale of seized vessels, and enforcement of lien claims. Gulf Marine Fabricators LP v. ATP INNOVATOR, 2018 WL 2427162 (S.D. Tex. May 30, 2018); Essex Crane Rental Corp. v. DB CROSSMAR 14, 2016 WL 5869790 (E.D. La. Oct. 6, 2016).
- Served as counsel for the owner and the bareboat charterer of the M/V MAERSK ALABAMA in defense of civil claims arising out of the hijacking of the M/V MAERSK ALABAMA by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Somalia in April 2009. Ruiz, et al. v. Waterman Steamship Corporation and Maersk Line Limited – 2011 WL 4089416 (Tex. App. - Houston [1st Dist.] 2011); ATM Reza, et al. Waterman Steamship Corporation and Maersk Line Limited – Case No.: 02-CV-2012-900746-MAY in the Circuit Court of Mobile County, Alabama.
Publications
- "The SHIPS for America Act Is Launched in Congress," Jones Walker LLP Maritime Client Alert, January 6, 2025
- "What To Expect From The SHIPS For America Act," The Waterways Journal, January 3, 2025
- "MarAd's Capital Construction Fund: An Opportunity For The Inland Waterways," The Waterways Journal, September 13, 2024
- "The Jones Act and Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act Manning Requirements in the Context of Offshore Energy Projects," Charting the Course: Navigating Offshore Energy Client Alert, August 15, 2024
- "EPA Launches Clean Ports Initiative with Two Competitive Grant Programs," Jones Walker LLP Maritime Client Alert, March 4, 2024
- "Offshore wind funding opportunities for Gulf of Mexico ports," New Orleans CityBusiness, August 18, 2022
- "Marching Toward Increased Investment in Offshore Wind and Related Vessel Support," Windpower Engineering & Development, August 2, 2021
- "Offshore Wind Gains Momentum - A Primer on Applicable Regulations," Texas Lawyer, March 24, 2021
- "The Jones Act and Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act in the Context of Offshore Wind," Jones Walker LLP Maritime Newsletter - Special Offshore Wind Edition, October 2020
- "Beyond the Blog — COVID-19 Weekly Recap — May 31, 2020," Jones Walker LLP Disaster Prep & Recovery Client Alert, May 31, 2020
- "Circuit Split on Punitive Damages Begs the Question of When the Supreme Court Will Rule on the Issue," Jones Walker LLP Admiralty & Maritime Newsletter, June 21, 2018
- "Eleventh Circuit Affirms District Court’s Denial of Maritime Lien Claim to Physical Supplier in First OW Bunker Case Decided by Court of Appeals in United States," Jones Walker LLP Admiralty & Maritime Newsletter, December 2017
- "SOLAS VGM Regulations for Containers Set to Go into Effect July 1," Jones Walker LLP Maritime Client Alert, June 2016
- "Breach of Warranty and Misrepresentation — USA," Tulane Law Review, June 1, 2013
- Comment, "Land versus Sea: Carmack versus COGSA: Why the Carmack Amendment Should Not Apply to Inland Portions of Multimodal Shipments," 82 Tulane Law Review 731, January 1, 2007
Presentations
- "Offshore Support," Marine Money 2024 Marine Finance Forum, New Orleans, Louisiana, November 14, 2024
- "Supply Chain Showstoppers – A Deep Dive into the Allocation of Risk," IPF24 Offshore Wind Energy Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana, April 23, 2024
- Jones Walker Houston Maritime Seminar, Houston, Texas, April 18, 2024
- "Windswept: An Offshore Wind Symposium," Loyola Maritime Law Journal, March 1, 2024
- "The Offshore Wind Market," Marine Money 2023 Marine Finance Forum, New Orleans, Louisiana, November 30, 2023
- "Gulf of Mexico Development Opportunities Panel," 2023 Offshore Wind Executive Summit, October 23, 2023
- Louisiana International Trade Conference, May 12, 2023
- "Offshore Wind and Green Hydrogen Production: Alternatives for Maximum Energy Offtake," Business Network for Offshore Wind's 2023 IPF Conference, Baltimore, Maryland, March 28–30, 2023
- "Jones Act Compliance Challenges in Offshore Wind," Tulane Offshore Wind Conference: Overcoming Barriers in the Gulf, January 18, 2023
- "The OSW Market," Marine Money 2022 Marine Finance Forum – New Orleans, November 30, 2022
- "Legal Issues and Other Considerations Related to Doing Business in the US," Innovation Norway, October 7, 2022
- "U.S. Offshore Wind - Investing in Vessels and Infrastructure for Renewable Energy," Marine Money 2021 New York Ship Finance Forum, November 18, 2021
- 2021 Maritime Law Association Annual Virtual Fall Meeting, November 3–6, 2021
- World Trade Center New Orleans International Trade Day, November 4, 2020
- "Coronavirus and Its Impact on Contractual Obligations," CMA Shipping Virtual Conference & Exhibition, October 16, 2020
- "Enforcing the Vessel’s Obligations," Admiralty Law Institute of Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, March 12, 2020
- "Investment Opportunities Across the Capital Structure," Houston Offshore Finance Forum, May 8, 2019
- "Maritime Liens and Bankruptcy," Lex Mundi Webinar, Key U.S. Maritime Law Issues Affecting International Companies, October 30, 2018
- "Jones Act Citizenship Issues in Recent Marine Restructurings," CMA Shipping, 2018
- "Stranded: Protecting Cargo Interests in the Face of Default or Bankruptcy by Charterers and Owners," Connecticut Maritime Association’s Shipping 2017, Samford, Connecticut, 2017
- "OW Bunker Fallout in the United States," CMA Shipping, 2016
Memberships
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American Bar Association
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Federal Bar Association
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Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel
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Louisiana State Bar Association
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Maritime Law Association, Secretary, Marine Financing Committee
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New Orleans Bar Association
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New Orleans Board of Trade, Board of Directors
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Norwegian-American Chamber of Commerce, Houston Chapter Board of Directors
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Southeastern Admiralty Law Institute
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World Trade Center New Orleans, Board of Directors

Education
- Tulane University Law School
JD, summa cum laude, 2008
Notes and Comments Editor, Tulane Law Review; Order of the Coif; Phi Delta Phi
- McIntire School of Commerce, University of Virginia
BS, Commerce, with a concentration in Finance, 2005
Dean’s List
Bar Admissions
- Louisiana
Court Admissions
- US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
- US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana
- US District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana
- US District Court for the Western District of Louisiana