Page 41: of Marine News Magazine (July 2013)

PEOPLE & COMPANY NEWS RiceMcKinneyLindGulfMark Offshore Appoints CFO GulfMark Offshore, Inc. announced the appointment of James (Jay) M. Mitchell as Executive Vice President and CFO. Mitchell replaces Quintin Kneen who assumed the role of President and CEO. Regulating MODUs U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Joseph Servidio, Assistant Commandant for Prevention Policy and Bureau of Safe- ty and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) Director James Watson signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for regulating mobile offshore drilling units (MODU) on the Outer Conti- nental Shelf (OCS). Under the current regulatory system, both the U.S. Coast Guard and BSEE have shared respon- sibilities for the regulation of safety management systems on the OCS. Duluth Seaway Port Authority Executive Director to retire Adolph Ojard, Executive Director of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority, will retire this year after serving in that leadership role for the past 10 years. NOAA Seeks Comment NOAA Fisheries is seeking comments on its proposal to make permanent the rules it implemented ? ve years ago to reduce the number of collisions be- tween ships and North Atlantic right whales. The rules, part of NOAAs long-standing efforts to recover right whales, are currently scheduled to expire in December 2013. NOAAs proposal to make them permanent, which includes a 60-day public com-ment period, was ? led at the Federal Register in June. Written comments on the proposed regulations ? led must be sent to NOAA Fisheries no later than August 6. Foss Wins CSA Safety Awards The Chamber of Shipping of America (CSA) has recognized the Foss fam- ily of companies for its commitment to safety by granting Jones F. Devlin Awards to 81 of its tugs and manned barges. U.S. Lakers and St. Lawrence Seaway Cargoes Both Down U.S.-? ag Great Lakes freighters carried 7.3 million tons of dry-bulk cargo in April, a decrease of 11.4 percent com- pared to 2013. The April ? oat was also down from the months 5-year average, but much less so - 5 percent. Through April, the U.S.-? ag ? oat stands at 12.5 million tons, a decrease of 14.6 percent compared to a year ago. The largest de- crease has come in iron ore; shipments are off by 1.1 million tons or 11.4 per- cent. However, compared to the 5-year average for the January-April time- frame, U.S.-? ag cargos are down by just 2.2 percent, and iron ore up by 8.7 percent. Separately, the St. Lawrence Seaway reported that year-to-date total cargo shipments for the period March 22 to May 31 were 8.1 million metric tons, down 12 percent over the same period in 2012. Bollinger Shipyards, Inc. LoomisHarvey Gulf Receives Moodys Rating Moodys Investors Service assigned a ? rst time corporate family rat- ing (CFR) of B1 to HGIM Corp (Harvey), and a B1 rating to the companys proposed credit facility consisting of $250 million revolver and $750 million Term Loan B. According to Harvey Gulf CEO Shane Guidry, the Moodys public rating will assist growing Harvey in order to meet clients demands while increasing EBDITA to over $500 million in 2016, through additional new builds and acqui- sitions. Proceeds from the ? nanc-ing transaction will be used to re? nance $534 million of existing debt, acquire nine Offshore Sup- ply Vessels (OSV) and fast service vessels from Gulf Offshore Logis- tics, LLC (GOL) for $189 million, adjust for acquisition related excess working capital, and pay related fees and expenses. The company expects to close on two additional GOL vessels in the spring of 2014, for a total transaction valued at $268 million. Harveys stable out- look re? ects Moodys expectation that the company will maintain its EBITDA margins and good safety record, positive fundamentals in the GOM E&P activity will allow for absorption of additional servic- ing capacity. www.marinelink.com MN 41MN July2013 Layout 32-42.indd 416/27/2013 1:06:26 PM