Arias, Fábrega & Fábrega assisted the owners of Haffar 1 in setting up a financing structure which would involve a first and second mortgage over a rig while under construction to finance the contract price.

The Firm had to create the possibility of having a first mortgage in place for a future lender while a second mortgage would be issued to secure the obligations of the owner under a bond issue. 

ARIFA found a solution to satisfy Panamanian law based on a technical legal aspect that was satisfactory for all parties concerned and which had not been contemplated by other counsel consulted on the issue.  The Firm offered an alternative – create a special purpose vehicle (SPV) that would not materialize until the relevant elements would be negotiated and a formal loan agreement was established. With this, the naval mortgage could be entered into with sufficient consideration based on the financing undertakings by the SPV, and as security for such future obligations, also providing  the possibility of being assigned, so that the incoming lender could acquire the rights to materialise the financing in the terms desired, without having to specify any details before hand, and therefore secure the desired "spot" under a mortgage with first priority for a future lending operation, whilst the actual lender is not  known.