NEWS
Is it the End for Bender? Bender Shipbuilding & Repair Co. agreed to seek protection from its creditors, filing a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition to reorganize. The company announced in a prepared statement that it intended to cut its workforce to about 300 to keep operations, including a ship repair job, running. "I regret very much the impact this decision has on our employees and vendors, and the community," said Tom Bender, President and CEO, pledging to "devote every waking minute" to getting the company through the process and back to business as usual as quickly as possible. According to a blog on AL.com (http://blog.al.com) a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge reportedly ruled that Seacor Marine was due to collect a $5 million guarantee from Bender, because Bender had been facing the prospect of involuntary bankruptcy for more than 10 days. Earlier this year, a group of creditors filed an involuntary petition to force the shipyard into bankruptcy, claiming that Bender owes them more than $44.6m, primarily stemming from a contract for three offshore supply vessels that Bender was unable to deliver.
Strategic Marine Delivers Samson Supporter
Two Western Australian companies have cooperated to set new design and construction standards for multi-million dollar high speed vessels built specifically for the Australian offshore market. Fremantle maritime support solutions company Samson Maritime ordered a pair of 40-m fast utility vessels from Henderson-based Strategic Marine last July, with the first of the vessels launched early last month at Strategic's Singapore yard. Samson Supporter has a top speed in excess of 25 knots, business class seating for 50 passengers with the ability to increase passenger numbers to 100 by using a modular interior, accommodation for 12 crew members, 120 sq. m. of deck space, as well as a central deck house. Samson Supporter will use its dynamic positioning to allow the vessel to remain on station for extended periods and conduct accurate ROV work, and it features a 1 sq. m. moon pool to allow hydrographic survey equipment to be deployed in a secure housing. "This brand new design combines the best of established maritime design principles with leading edge tech-
Samson Supporter in the water. Inset: (Left to right) Samson's Jeremy Williams, and Ben Ward, with Strategic Marine's Chairman Mark Newbold
nology," said Jeremy Williams, Samson Maritime Director. "Importantly, these new vessels are built to the stringent requirements needed to operate them on the Australian coast. These boats have the inbuilt flexibility to allow them to perform a wide range of both inshore and offshore maritime support tasks, including high speed supply runs, crew transfer, safety support and intervention and inshore and offshore survey tasks." The Samson Sup-
porter and its sister vessel, the Samson Supplier, which will be delivered in August, will service the highly active Western Australian oil and gas industry. Strategic's Singapore yard is also currently working to complete two other 40m utility vessels ordered by Malaysian offshore servicing company Dinastia Jati Sdn Bhd last September. These are due for delivery in July and September.
www.strategicmarine.com
World Class Quality
Ship Repair & Newbuild
Irving Shipbuilding Inc.
Halifax Shipyard - East Isle Shipyard - Shelburne Ship Repair - Woodside Industries
P.O. Box 9110. 3099 Barrington Street, Halifax, NS, Canada B3K 5M7 Phone: +1 (902) 423 9271 Email:marketing@irvingshipbuilding.com
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www.irvingshipbuilding.com
Maritime Reporter & Engineering News