The Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot competition brings together thousands of law students, arbitrators, and alumni from all around the world during the spring of 2025. This year, the Vis Moot will apply the Arbitration Rules of the Finland Chamber of Commerce.
4.12.2024
Spotlight on Finnish arbitration expertise: Castrén & Snellman is proud to support Vis Moot
Castrén & Snellman and its leading dispute resolution team are proud to support the 32nd Vis Moot and the 22nd Vis East Moot as a Gold Partner of the Finland Arbitration Institute.
Vis Moot offers a great opportunity to gain expertise in international dispute resolution and arbitration. We are excited to support students in developing their skills in this field. It’s also an honour to showcase high-quality Nordic arbitration expertise. Strong networks are vital for lawyers working in international dispute resolution and arbitration, and the friendships made during the competition often last decades,
say partners Anders Forss and Ilona Karppinen.
The Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot is a competition for law students to foster the study and practice of international commercial sales law and arbitration and provide practical training for resolving international business disputes.
The Moot involves a dispute arising out of a contract of sale between two countries that are parties to the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG). The applied arbitral rules rotate yearly among the arbitration rules of co-sponsoring institutions of the Moot.
The participants will have to possibility to practise for the competition at the FAI Helsinki Pre-Moot from 27th February to 1st March, which Castrén & Snellman is hosting together with other contributing law firms. The 22nd Vis East Moot will take place from 30th March to 6th April in Hong Kong, and the 32nd Vis Moot is in Vienna from 11th to 17th April.
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Marina Group – Acquisition of Iisiveneily and Porvoon Venekorjaamo
We advised Hopeasalmen Telakka Oy, part of Marina Group, on the acquisitions of Iisiveneily and Porvoon Venekorjaamo. The transactions form part of Marina Group’s expansion into the Finnish marina and boatyard sector, strengthening its position under the Quattro Marine brand. Following the acquisitions, Quattro Marine’s Finnish operations comprise Hopeasalmen Telakka, which operates boatyard facilities in Helsinki’s Mustikkamaa and in Tolkkinen, Porvoo, together with Iisiveneily and Porvoon Venekorjaamo. Marina Group is a Norwegian marina and boatyard consortium owned by the private equity sponsor Norvestor. It has grown rapidly through acquisitions to become the Nordic region’s largest boating services provider, having acquired 24 marinas and boatyards across Norway, Sweden and Finland within roughly a year.
Case published 24.8.2026
Neste – A EUR 250 million 10-year loan with NIB
We advised Neste as it signed a EUR 250 million 10-year loan with NIB. The loan will finance Neste’s investments related to research and development (R&D) in processing lower-quality feedstocks into high-quality renewable products; as well as the liquefied waste plastics (LWP) investment at Neste’s refinery in Porvoo, Finland. The R&D activities supported by the loan focus on the development of renewable solutions. These include, for example, expanding feedstock capabilities and technologies that enable the processing of new and lower-quality waste and residues into high-quality renewable end products. Part of the financing supports Neste’s liquefied waste plastics investment in Porvoo, related to upgrading low-quality plastic waste into high-quality feedstock at an industrial scale. The investment contributes to advancing circular economy solutions by enabling the use of hard-to-recycle plastic waste as a replacement for virgin fossil raw materials. The unit has an annual capacity to process up to 150,000 tonnes of liquefied waste plastic. Production ramp-up commenced in 2026.
Case published 19.8.2026
Aspo – Demerger and finance matters
We advised Aspo Plc, ESL Shipping Ltd and AtoBatC Shipping AB in relation to finance matters in connection with the demerger of Aspo, by which all the shares in ESL Shipping Ltd held by Aspo, together with the related assets and liabilities, will be transferred to a new independent company to be named ESL Shipping Group Plc. Aspo intends to apply for the shares of ESL Shipping Group to be admitted to trading on the regulated market of Nasdaq Helsinki. It is further intended that Aspo be renamed Telko Group Plc.
Case published 19.8.2026
Lenders and Export Credit Agencies – EUR 514.4 million green project financing for Easpring Finland New Materials’ CAM plant
We acted as Finnish law legal adviser to the lenders and the export credit agencies in connection with the EUR 514.4 million green project financing for the development and construction of Easpring Finland New Materials Oy’s cathode active material (CAM) manufacturing plant in Kotka, Finland. The borrower, Easpring Finland New Materials Oy, is a joint venture owned by Beijing Easpring Material Technology, Finnish Minerals Group and LG Energy Solution. The financing was provided by six international commercial banks, with Société Générale acting as financial adviser and mandated lead arranger together with Natixis as co-mandated lead arranger, and DNB, ICBC, ING and Standard Chartered participating as lenders, with support from the export credit agencies Finnvera and Sinosure. The project represents a significant milestone for Finland and the European battery value chain by strengthening Europe’s domestic supply of cathode active materials, a key component in lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage applications. Once the first phase of the project is operational, the Kotka facility is expected to produce approximately 60,000 tonnes of cathode active material annually, making it one of the largest CAM production plants in Europe and supplying leading battery manufacturers across Europe.
Case published 21.7.2026