Judgement Pronounced in Dispute
After a dispute lasting several years, a court in London has ordered Concordia Maritime to pay $3.6m to a subsidiary of the Halliburton group in the US. Concordia Maritime will also have to pay some interest compensation to the opposite party. The original claim of $11.5m was for compensation for repair and steel replacement work carried out by the buyer on the VLCC Stena Continent sold by a subsidiary of Concordia Maritime in 2000. A provision of $2.3mwas made in the annual accounts for 2005. In view of the judgement now pronounced, Concordia Maritime has lowered its forecast for 2006 from SEK 75 million to SEK 55 million. There is a possibility that either party may appeal the court’s ruling but no decisions on this have yet been made.
A&P Birkenhead Stays Busy
Since reopening in August last year (2002), A&P Birkenhead has made significant strides to becoming a major force in the northern European shiprepair industry. One of the first operations carried out by A&P Group was to put in place efficient and effective quality systems in all the yard’s departments. This drive has been rewarded with the award of the ISO 9002:2000 accreditation from Bureau Veritas Quality Inspectorate (BVQI), which will also carry out six-monthly audits of the yard. Currently A&P Birkenhead is experiencing one of its busiest periods, having completed a 14-day repair programme onboard P&O’s ferry 14,426 grt European Pioneer, she is immediately followed by the 18,653 grt European Envoy, which will be in drydock for 10 days, and the 12,879 grt European Leader - 14 days.
