Bollinger Shipyards has announced today that Ben Bordelon will assume the duties of Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of the company.
Ben Bordelon, along with the Chouest family from Galliano, LA, has acquired all assets and stock of Bollinger Shipyards, Inc.
Bordelon has served in many capacities during his career at Bollinger, and has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2002. He has served as Executive Vice President of Repair and most recently as Chief Operating Officer of Bollinger Shipyards.
Donald G. Bollinger founded the shipyard in 1946 as Bollinger Machine Shop & Shipyard, Inc. and he served as Chairman until 1985. Mr. Donald’s son, Boysie Bollinger, served as Chairman from 1985. Boysie Bollinger’s son, Chris Bollinger, also served on the Board of Directors during his employment at Bollinger. As the founder’s grandson, Ben Bordelon transitions Bollinger Shipyards to its third generation, as the new leadership of Bollinger Shipyards.
Bollinger Shipyards designs and builds offshore oil field support vessels, ocean-going double hull barges, tug boats, rigs, liftboats, inland waterways push boats and barges, fast military patrol boats and other steel and aluminum products at its 10 strategically located shipyards situated between New Orleans and Houston with direct access to the Gulf of Mexico, Mississippi River and the Intracoastal Waterway. Bollinger is the largest vessel repair company in the Gulf of Mexico region with a total of 30 dry-docks, ranging in sizes from 400 tons to 10,500 tons, in Louisiana and Texas.
Since 1985, Bollinger Shipyards has delivered more than 138 patrol boats to the U.S. Coast Guard and Navy. Currently, the company is contracted to build a total of 30 ‘Sentinel’ class Fast Response Cutters for the Coast Guard worth a total contract value of $1.4 billion.
[QUOTE=coldduck;150465]This is not good for other OSV operators. I can only imagine the amount of money it took to pull this off.[/QUOTE]
I would be interested to hear an expansion of that point of view. I am certainly aware of the supply-boat sector but I am by no means privy to its inner-workings. Why is this acquisition bad for other supply boat operators? Is it that this will limit the number of shipyards that other companies can go to for repairs and new construction? I apologize for my ignorance, enlighten me!
[QUOTE=PaddyWest2012;150479]I would be interested to hear an expansion of that point of view. I am certainly aware of the supply-boat sector but I am by no means privy to its inner-workings. Why is this acquisition bad for other supply boat operators? Is it that this will limit the number of shipyards that other companies can go to for repairs and new construction? I apologize for my ignorance, enlighten me![/QUOTE]
Now Chouest will have a cost advantage and dry dock priority over its competitors in the OSV business (a very competitive business) at the Bollinger yards, and they will essentially be paying Chouest to work on their boats. If they prefer not to do business with Chouest owned yards, there is now less competition among the non-Chouest yards, and decreased yard availability. Not to mention longer steaming time and more days off charter to go to more distant yards.
I heard back in July that this was happening for $700 Million. You all know how rumors fly. Whatever the price, it does seems more like a move to support an expansion than an expensive move just to restrict competitors.
[QUOTE=tugsailor;150488]Now Chouest will have a cost advantage and dry dock priority over its competitors in the OSV business (a very competitive business) at the Bollinger yards, and they will essentially be paying Chouest to work on their boats. If they prefer not to do business with Chouest owned yards, there is now less competition among the non-Chouest yards, and decreased yard availability. Not to mention longer steaming time and more days off charter to go to more distant yards.[/QUOTE]
That makes sense, thank for for expanding on that thought.
Yes, Chouest will have control over the lions share of dry docks and large repair yards in Louisiana. There are a few others here and there (Houma etc.) and then of course Mobile and Galveston. Bollinger just happened to acquire two dry docks from a blue boat company and now they are going to be owned by orange.