How in the world did they find a new crew to relieve the other one? Paid up front? If not then the on coming crew is a bunch of chumps.
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It could be the mortgage holder has stepped in with some cash to protect their equity.
If I were a mortgage holder facing the prospect of a very high cost âfederal assumption â or court administration of my equity, Iâd do everyhing to avoid it.
That is my hope. Hope the hole isnât too big for them to recover. Perhaps Morty is getting more than a wake up call now. I know the crews have.
Well Bouchard would have to pay even more of a premium to retain thier crews than they already do after all this. I wonder if theres room in the margins for that?
My guess would be that these are new temporary guys working for a vessel management company hired by the bank. The bank will be paying the management company. The management company will be paying the crews. It could be that itâs just a caretaker crew to tend the vessels at anchor.
Or it could be that they intend to put the vessels back to work under the management companyâs, or someone elseâs banner.
At this point, Morty probably has very little say in the matter.
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Would this be another shipping company? Or tug company? How would it work? Makes sense but what do they doâŚkeep guys on retainer with licenses and MMCs to take over? Just curious.
All speculation folks, myself included. Just glad perhaps this situation is getting the attention it needs. Those boats will eventually operate, too good of equipment for at least half the fleet. Who operates them is anybodyâs guess.
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A ship management company like Crowley for example would have enough guys already on the payroll to crew a couple more ATBs, or they could call SIU, or they could hire some new guys. There are lots of ex-Crowley/Valdez/PNW guys looking for work, or nvluding dome that want to return to Crowley.
A company like Complete Offshore Logistics (who owns this company) could provide crew.
Companies like Core Group, Oceanwide, Faststream, etc could crew and manage the vessels.
Really, any respectable ATB operator could take on managing a couple more boats.
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For that matter there are all the Bouchard crew that didnât relieve on time sitting shoreside.
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Those guys are feverishly looking for new employment im sure.
They are both already on the market
Thereâs a bunch of tugs in and or around the Gulf that could tow all of that stuff up the Calcasieu or Houma Nav and tie it all off âwhereverâ.
May I suggest that if the mainstream meedia are not covering this appalling situation, time to get on Facebook, Twitter and other social meedia. As a total outsider I am appauled that the various agencies have created this situation.
It seems to me that the vessels should be seized by the CG. Contract crew placed on board to ensure safety then the vessels sold to pay the outstanding wages and other debts.
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What if they became unseaworthy or uninhabitable? Just sayingâŚ
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I am Local 25. Local 333 and or whatever Penn was sounded good but Iâm a real Brother. In 2001 when I took GMDSS, I met the coolest officer Iâve ever met civilian side. Bouchard. Straight Pirates. Donât cause too much attention post 154 + or -!
The owner of a vessel is often a purposely-established company owning just this one vessel. The owners of this company often have no relations with the user of this vessel.
The one-ship company and the user (here Bouchard) have a long-term bareboat charter or leasing contract, where the owner gets a fee and the user gets all revenues and pays all expenses of the vessel.
Seize and sell a vessel from an innocent owner, to pay the debts of the faulty user?
The ownersâ lawyers had certainly prepared a fine charter contract covering this.
Itâs still the vessel that can be arrested. The lien for wages is against the vessel.
I am tempted to say⌠so what?
The âinnocentâ owner of the vessel looses their ship. But the crew get paid. The entire industry and especially those who âownâ vessels chartered to will this user and walk away from them.
And itâs not exactly as if this user company has no form or history!
What would the USCG do if the crew of one of those ships were to all go down withnfood poisoning and need hospital treatment? They would look pretty stupid arresting a sick man in a hospital bed.
It seems to me the USCG are going after the wrong party by threatening to arrest and prosecute the crew whose contract has been broken by the employer.
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What contract? Arenât they âat willâ employees?