Page 4: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (June 2001)

Volvo Rumored To Be Selling

Penta Engine Unit

Volvo recently made it known to investment banks that all or part of its profitable Penta marine and industrial engine unit would be up for sale at the right price. Reuters reported. Analysts said Volvo probably would require a high offer for Penta, one of its smaller but more profitable units, and would sell only if it needed the cash to fund a tempting acquisition in its core business in trucks, buses and industrial equip- ment. But Penta's strong recent financial performance could justify an expensive price tag, an analyst noted, and that cash would be useful if Volvo had a large acquisition in the pipeline. Volvo declined to comment. Volvo Penta makes engines for leisure boats, work- boats and other markets.

Frontline Sells

Suezmax Tanker

Frontline has entered into an agree- ment to sell one of its 2000-built

Suezmax tankers. Front Archer. The vessel was designed and built with future employment as shuttle tanker in mind and is equipped with controllable pitch propeller and thruster tunnel. It is the buyer's intention to use the vessel in shuttle operations. Frontline took deliv- ery of the Front Archer in February 2000 and the vessel has traded in the spot market from delivery. The vessel is expected to be delivered to the buyer in

July/August 2000. Frontline expects to book a profit of approximately $20 mil- lion and to release about $ 32 million in liquidity.

Vosper Prospers

With Diversity

Britain's Vosper Thorneycroft Pic, posting a two percent rise in year prof- its, said its diversification strategy was bearing fruit, with 55 percent of operat- ing profits coming from non-shipbuild- ing activities. The group reported pre- tax profits before goodwill of $51.49 million in the year to March 31. 2001, up from 35.5 million last year and just above market forecasts. Vosper said a slide in shipbuilding operating profits — from $26.2 million to $16.7 million — had been more than compensated for by growth in its support services and marine products divisions.

Cammed Laird Cuts

More Jobs

Cammell Laird, which has entered into receivership, is to cut another 248 jobs in Britain over the coming weeks.

PricewaterhouseCoopers, which is act- ing as receivers for the shipbuilding group, said that the cuts were necessary due to declining volumes of work. "The work is running down. We have workers surplus to requirement as dictated by workload...," said a spokeswoman for

Ian Stokoe at accountancy firm

PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The company also announced that it had companies interested in purchasing its Teesside shipyard.

Russia Strikes A Deal To

Raise Kursk

Russia signed a deal with Dutch sal- vage and heavy transport firm

Mammoet to raise the wrecked nuclear submarine Kursk, which plunged to the bottom of the Barents Sea last year killing all 118 sailors on board.

Stage one will begin in mid-July and be completed about September 8-10.

The second phase, the direct lifting of

Kursk, will happen between September 10-20. Mammoet emerged at the last minute. On the eve of the signing, a con- sortium comprising Dutch firms Smit

Internationale NV and Heerema and

U.S. firm Halliburton said Russia had rejected their bid for the contract after more than six months of negotiations.

Smit said there was too little time to pre- pare safely to raise the Kursk this sum- mer as Russia demanded.

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