Page 43: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (November 1996)

ontinued from page 39) ohn McNeece has been contract- i to create the feeling of an "old rorld" luxury cruiseliner. 'rojected cost for the two new ihips is more than $300 million. "We have carefully planned these ships to match the specific needs of the market," commented Frank

Del Rio, executive vice president,

Renaissance Cruises. "These will be the first luxury ships designed to provide multiple casual dining options at dinnertime, and perhaps most significant of all, they will be the first ships in the world to be designated 'no-smoking' through- out."

Renaissance Cruises will operate and market the new ships, which are scheduled for delivery in June 1998 and February 1999.

Although specific itineraries have not been finalized, it is expected that they will sail primarily in the

Mediterranean. Construction of the vessels will begin in December 1996, with the first keel-laying scheduled for June 1997.

Seacor To Acquire Smit

Offshore Assets

Seacor Holdings, Inc. signed a letter of intent to acquire all of the offshore supply vessel assets of

Smit International NV (Smit), and certain joint venture interest for approximately $140.2 million. The

Smit supply vessel fleet, including vessels held in joint ventures, con- sists of 49 vessels. The parties anticipate that the transaction will close by the end of December, and

Seacor reportedly intends to change its name to Smit-Seacor

Inc. upon completion of the trans- action.

The purchase consideration will consist of $84 million in cash to be provided by existing lines of credit, 712,000 shares of Seacor common stock, which based on Seacor's closing price on October 11, had a value of $35.2 million, and $21 mil- lion in subordinated convertible notes for a total price of approxi- mately $140.2 million. Smit may also receive additional considera- tion in 1999 predicated on improv- ing the performance of the fleet and meeting certain targets for profitability in 1997 and 1998.

Charles Fabrikant, chairman of Seacor, observed, "This combina- tion is an excellent fit with

Seacor's emphasis on deepwater service and establishes Seacor as a global offshore operation by giving

Houston, Texas USA

Fax (713) 674-0033 (800) 506-Wire

World'Cl^s Shipboard Cables fg W M \Nor\6 Class

Approvals • High Temperature a Ratings ' • Excellent Co\6

Weather Durability • Flexible Construction

Flame Retardant —m

Available Voltages: 1 600. 2000. 5000. 8000. 15000. H

A titer

Gexol cab\es, available exclusively from AmerCable, are FLEXIBLE enough for any vessel application where safety and reliability are important.

Regulatory Approvals and Acceptances

AMERICAN BUREAU OF SHIPPING 93-BT52174-X AmerCable

CANADIAN nliLL

COAST GUARD

DET NORSKE VERITAS

E-3268 through E-3271

LLOYD'S REGISTRY OF SHIPPING 91/00333 (E3)

UNDERWRITERS LABORATORIES

E111461

UNITED STATES COAST GUARD

November 2, 1987/9304

Other certifications pending

Gexol is a registered trademark of AmerCable, a division of Associated Materials Incorporated

AmerCable 350 Bailey Road • El Dorado, Arkansas, USA

Fax (501) 862-9613 • http://www.amercable.com • (501) 862-4919 • (800) 643-1516 us market presence in the Far

East, Latin America and the

Mediterranean. In effect, Seacor is now one of two companies able to serve every important offshore market."

Smit President M.A. Busker noted that the transaction would strengthen Smit's position in the salvage and maritime contracting industries by providing access to substantially greater marine resources than are currently avail- able to Smit and also to vessels operating in North America.

Smit is a marine salvage and off- shore installation contractor oper- ating in the North Sea, the

Mediterranean, the Far East, the

Middle East, and Caribbean and

Latin America. Seacor operates a diversified fleet of more than 250 vessels dedicated to supporting off- shore oil and gas exploration and r GEXOL iml -v w —f-bw*. - -ww

November, 1996 Circle 204 on Reader Service Card 45