Hilco Industrial, LLC, and partners Myron Bowling Auctioneers, Maynards Industries, and PPL Group, will conduct a public auction sale of the assets of Keet Seel Tankships, LLC, and First Mesa Tankships, LLC on February 15, 16, and 17, 2011 The auction will feature the components necessary to construct two 49,000-dwt Jones Act Tankers. As recently as 2009, these components were valued at over $200,000,000, making this a truly unprecedented auction event. Many of the components have never been used or installed and are still in their original vendor shipping crates.
In 2007, AHL Shipping committed to build three tankers in conjunction with Shell Trading Company, however construction was suspended in November, 2010, when Dos Raven Tankships (DRT), Keet Steel Tankships (KST), and First Mesa Tankships (FMT) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a Louisiana federal bankruptcy court. According to TradeWinds, a shipping trade publication, speculated that the first vessel, DRT's hull number 103, is 90% complete, KST's hull number 104 is 60% complete and the third ship, FMT's hull number 105 is 35% complete. American Shipper, another industry publication, wrote that the ships were to be shallow draft so they could call at a wider range of ports and were to have twin-screw, diesel electric propulsion engine systems.
Bidders participating in this auction will be able to place bids both on-site and via webcast (www.hilcoind.com). On February 15 and 16, and the morning of February 17, walk-around auction sales will be held in Mobile, Alabama and Harvey, Louisiana. On the afternoon of February 17, assets from the other locations (referenced at Hilco Industrial's website: http://goo.gl/rss99) will be sold in a theater-style auction in Harvey, Louisiana.