Cammell Laird Group News

Jim Clark, a senior manager at Cammell Laird, has clocking 60 years in the ship repair industry, making him one of the U.K.’s longest serving Chief Estimators. The 76-year-old chief estimator has delivering more than 11,000 over the course of his career, having worked with maritime brands from Blue Star Line to his current role at Cammell Laird. Since his first job in 1962 he has delivered estimates for ship repair projects worth circa £100 billion ($129.2 billion) in today’s currency.

Following quickly on the heels of an overseas investment deal in Marseilles, Cammell Laird (Holdings) has increased its involvement in the overseas repair and conversion industries by taking a $7.7 million (49%) equity stake in a new holding company along with United States' West Coast shiprepairer Cascade General. This deal has an option for Cammell Laird to take a controlling interest within the next two years. The deal will allow the new company to purchase the repair facility (freehold and docks) at Portland, Oregon, the largest single repair facility on the U.S. West Coast. The facility is currently owned by Portland Port Authority and operated by Cascade General.

Standard & Poor's today lowered its long-term corporate credit and senior unsecured debt ratings on Cammell Laird Holdings PLC (Cammell Laird) to 'D' from double-'C' and single-'C', respectively. At the same time, the ratings were removed from CreditWatch, where they were placed with negative implications on Nov. 30, 2000. These actions follow the appointment of receivers to intermediate holding company Cammell Laird Group PLC, and the Group's failure today to make the first coupon payment of EUR7.5 million ($6.7 million) on its EUR125 million 10-year bond. Cammell Laird Group acts as the guarantor of Cammell Laird's senior unsecured notes. Cammell Laird is a small U.K. shipbuilder that generated revenues totaling GBP129 million ($185 million) in the year to Oct. 31, 2000.