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times. We will build off the past, but not be tied to it.? In a nutshell, Aker had to put into place the public/private partnership in order to build hull numbers 17 & 18. These, in turn, yielded hull numbers 19 and 20 ? the SeaRiver hulls. Scott Clapham, SVP Projects and Business Improvements, told MarPro during the same visit, ?We aim to keep the equip- ment and the yard moving and working.? But, unlike others trying to do the same thing elsewhere, Aker had to prove its mettle up front by building the spec hulls. Eschewing a larger short term payoff, the Crowley pro t-sharing deal set up the long term bene t of a deeper Crowley relationship and with that, the longer term viability of the shipyard. Hull numbers 17 and 18 involved pro t sharing. And, while Rokke might have a lot of faith in the product tanker market, he certainly couldn?t have known that just as these hulls hit the market that Jones Act freight rates would turn decidedly north, yielding some of the best numbers ever seen in this market. More opportunistic creativity would follow. Next came the joint venture; with 49 percent Aker / 51 percent Crowley ownership (IAW Jones Act compliance), a deal which began to increase cash  ow consistent with the steady business. Aker?s CEO add- ed, ?We have a history of being creative to maximize opportuni- ties for our stakeholders. The spec vessels are examples of that.? Rokke explains the big picture even further. ?It was by suc- cessfully delivering on our commitments to American Ship- ping/OSG that put us in position to build the spec vessels.? And the spec hulls were important in that Aker chose a proven hull design from Korea, something that would appeal to risk- averse Jones Act potential buyers. Eventually, the spec boats were sold for $90 million each and a pro t-sharing arrange- ment. Rokke adds, ?Our long term belief in the market has our shipyard in a position to succeed.? Today, with Aker riding the meteoric climb in its stock (3,500 percent in comparison with the SP 500 over the same timeframe), Aker?s joint venture with Crowley is just one more reason for Rokke to be optimistic. ?We will also contribute signi cant amounts of capital to the project with Crowley in the driver?s seat. It gives our shareholders direct exposure to the shale boom and we like the risk/reward of the investment. It is a partnership that we are very excited about. Crowley is  rst-class operator and we build quality ships. That adds value for the end user.? Best Practices: Here, Abroad and Internally at Aker ?Our goal is to always be better today than we were yes- terday. ? That?s Kristian Rokke?s stock answer to queries about what Aker is doing better than the rest of the Jones Act shipbuilding market and what Aker ? and the rest of the U.S. shipbuilders ? need to do to catch up with their foreign counterparts. He added simply, ?We focus on delivering on our commitments to the customer.? That entails taking ?best practices? from other yards around the world, including Ko- Smith Berger Marine, Inc.builds a full range of Shark Jaws for AnchorHandling Tug Supply vessels. Standard ratings are 100, 200, 350, 500 and 750 metric tons and all units have Quick Release at the rated load.Smith Berger flexibility allows us to customize our equipment to suit theoperating characteristics of your vessel. Third party certification, loadtests, release tests and load monitoring systems are available options. Rely on the 100 year history of Smith Berger to outfit your vessel with our rugged and dependable equipment.SMITHBERGERMARINE, INC.OFFERSA COMPLETELINEOF SHARK JAWS ? TOWING PINS ? STERN ROLLERS Smith Berger Marine, Inc.7915 10th Ave., S., Seattle, WA 98108 USA Tel. 206.764.4650 ? Toll Free 888.726.1688 ? Fax 206.764.4653 E-mail: [email protected] ? Web: www.smithberger.com SAFE - RELIABLE - ECONOMICALMP #4 34-49.indd 37MP #4 34-49.indd 3712/11/2013 3:56:32 PM12/11/2013 3:56:32 PM