ARIES MARINE

Delivery: Bollinger Delivers the "New" Elsa Leigh

Bollinger Shipyards last month re-delivered the 254-ft. supply boat, Elsa Leigh, to Aries Marine Corp., of Lafayette, La., which is the new name for the former Seacor Clipper following extensive renovation at Bollinger's Morgan City shipyard. The new name is in honor of Elsa Leigh, the four year-old daughter of Courtney B. Ramsay, vice-president of Aries Marine. "This is the kind of project we love," said Donald "Boysie" Bollinger, chairman and CEO of Bollinger. "Repair, conversion and retrofitting boats has been a vital part of our business since my father founded the company in 1946 and jobs like this always present new challenges." Much of the work involved mechanical systems in the hull and replacement of about 30 percent of the boat's steel. The vessel was brought up to ABS DPS 1, FiFi1 and GMDSS Area 3 certification. Her two main EMD engines were removed and rebuilt by NREC in Houma, La., who boosted their power from 1,250 hp each to 1,500 hp each. The boat's old reverse/reduction gears were replaced with re-conditioned Falk gears to accommodate the higher horsepower and her two drive shafts were re-conditioned at Bollinger. Elsa Leigh's Detroit Diesel 12V71 generator sets were "tuned up" and a Cummins KT-19 M3 700 hp diesel engine replaced the existing Detroit Diesel bowthruster engine. That engine was re-conditioned and used to drive a fire pump that serves two new 11,000 GPM Stang fire monitors that Bollinger added to the boat

Grandunion Controls Aries Maritime Transport

Aries Maritime Transport Limited (NASDAQ:RAMS) announced that Grandunion Inc., a company controlled by Michail S. Zolotas and Nicholas G. Fistes, acquired 18,977,778 newly issued common shares in Aries in exchange for three capesize drybulk carriers. Of such shares, 2,666,667 were transferred to Rocket Marine Inc., a company controlled by two former directors and principal shareholders in Aries, in exchange for Rocket and its affiliates entering into a voting agreement with Grandunion

Aries Maritime Provides Update on its Fleet Deployment

Aries Maritime Transport Limited announced an update on its fleet deployment. The Bora, a 2000-built double-hull products tanker, returned to service last week following the completion of works, which included dry-docking repairs and upgrades, as previously announced. The vessel is being deployed in the spot market, while period charter opportunities are explored. The cost of repairs is expected to total approximately $1.4m.

Aries Maritime Announces Extended Period Charter for the Ocean Hope

Aries Maritime Transport Limited announced it has extended the existing period charter for the Ocean Hope, a 1989-built container vessel, with China Shipping Container Lines (CSCL). The extended charter is for a period of 24 months at a net rate of $13,300 per day, commencing on June 13, 2007. The Company also announced that the MSC Oslo, a 1989-built container vessel, returned to service on April 14, 2007, following the completion of works necessary to achieve the speed required

Aries Maritime Transport Limited Announces 3Q Results

Aries Maritime Transport Limited reported its financial results for the nine months ended September 30, 2007. Revenues of $23.2m were recorded for the three months ended September 30, 2007, compared to revenues of $26m recorded for the three months ended June 30, 2007. The decrease in revenues is primarily attributable to unscheduled out-of-service time related to the Ostria, a 2000-built double-hull products tanker, and scheduled out-of-service time related to the High Land

Aries Renews Bareboat Charters for Two Tankers

Aries Maritime Transport Limited announced it has renewed the bareboat charters for the Stena Compass, a 2006-built double-hull products tanker, and its sister ship, the Stena Compassion, with Stena Group. The charters will be for 23 to 25 months at a gross rate of $18,700 per day per vessel, less 2.5% in brokerage commissions. The charters also include a profit-sharing component for Aries equal to 30% of the actual Time Charter Equivalent rate above $26,000 per day per vessel

Harley Marine was Pivotal Private Equity Speaker at Marine Money

Harley Franco, Founder and Chairman of Pacific Coast operator Harley Marine Services, Inc., was a pivotal private equity speaker at a recent Marine Money conference held in New York City. Mr. Franco represented the private equity position on a finance panel consisting of public maritime companies including Overseas Shipholding Group and Horizon Line. In his presentation, Mr. Franco outlined the various finance structures utilized which enabled him to remain private

Marine Software Ltd Delivers Marine Planned Maintenance

U.K.-based software house Marine Software Ltd has successfully delivered its DNV type approved Marine Planned Maintenance system on QinetiQ’s Trimaran demonstrator vessel R.V. Triton . This innovative test vessel comes after ten years of research and is the largest motor powered trimaran demonstrator ever built, also being the worlds first of class ship based on this new concept triple-hull design. QinetiQ, formerly known as the Defense Evaluation and Research Agency ( DERA )

APR Labs Greener Method of Propulsion

In 2006, Aries Propulsion Research Labs (APR Labs) introduced a new method of propulsion technology labeled Omni-Directional Propulsion (ODP). The method was created by designer Chris B. Hewatt and was first published on the United States Patent and Trade Organization (USPTO) Web site as publication 20060230847. APR Labs says that this unique design has been gaining attention in the transportation industry, but could have its greatest impact on the marine industry because it creates movement

Offshore Drilling Expenditure Expected to Increase

MarketResearch.com announced the addition of GBI Research's new report "Offshore Drilling Industry in the Americas to 2015 - New Deepwater Discoveries and Stringent Offshore Regulations Affecting the Future Industry Outlook," to their collection of Energy market reports. The report provides forecasts for the offshore drilling industry in the Americas to 2015. The report also provides segmental forecasts of the offshore drilling market by water depth and highlights the major