Vassilis Psyrras
Biography
A rare combination of sea-going officer, former in-house counsel to a global shipping operator, and senior dual-qualified lawyer — Vassilis brings first-hand industry knowledge, boardroom-level advisory and cross-border transactional depth to every mandate he takes on.
Vassilis Psyrras is a Counsel in the firm's Limassol office, where he advises international financial institutions, corporate groups, shipping companies and asset-intensive businesses on complex cross-border transactions, restructurings, governance matters and disputes.
His practice has evolved over more than 15 years to span admiralty and shipping, banking and finance, mergers and acquisitions, corporate structuring, sanctions, asset-based lending and technology law, positioning him as a lawyer with genuine multi-practice depth across all of these fields.
Prior to his legal career, Vassilis worked in commercial roles for Piraeus-based shipping companies and gained seagoing experience as a cadet officer, giving him a first-hand understanding of how shipping companies and vessels operate. He subsequently served as in-house counsel in the legal department of Oldendorff Carriers GmbH & Co. KG, a global ship operator headquartered in Hamburg, Germany.
Vassilis is dual-qualified as an advocate in Cyprus and as a solicitor in England and Wales, and is recognised by both Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners for his shipping and finance work.
Relevant Experience
- Cyprus based lender: Conducting arbitration proceedings in relation to the exercise of mortgagee’s rights under a Cyprus law mortgage
- Athens based marine fuel trader and supplier: Advising on a multi-million euro debt recovery
- Cyprus shipowner: court representation in a multi-million euro salvage claim
- Global container and logistics conglomerate: acting as local counsel of its Cyprus arm
- Shipping finance bank: advising a leading German bank on the restructuring of a large Cyprus-based ship owner and operator
- Major yacht insurer: defending admiralty proceedings for damages between yachts while ashore
- London based marine fuel supplier: arrest proceedings for debt recovery
- London based syndicate of underwriters: conducting court proceedings and negotiating the settlement of a cargo claim
- Swiss-based shipowner: acting as local counsel for Cyprus-flagged vessels
- Limassol port: advising one of the bidders on the tender for the privatisation of Limassol port
- Advising leading banks and financial institutions on ship finance, debt restructuring and securitisation (including drafting of finance and security documents)
- Consulting local and international clients on legal aspects of shipping, ship finance and admiralty
- Cyprus Yacht Leasing Scheme: advising high net worth private clients on the application of the VAT-saving scheme and establishing compliant structures.
- Representing foreign and domestic clients in admiralty proceedings.