Is it the End for Bender Shipbuilding?

Bender Shipbuilding & Repair Co. agreed to seek protection from its creditors, filing a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition to reorganize.

The company announced in a prepared statement that it intended to cut its workforce to about 300 to keep operations, including a ship repair job, running. “I regret very much the impact this decision has on our employees and vendors, and the community,” said Tom Bender, President and CEO, pledging to “devote every waking minute” to getting the company through the process and back to business as usual as quickly as possible.

Monday, according to a blog on AL.com (http://blog.al.com) a U.S. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge reportedly ruled that Seacor Marine was due to collect a $5 million guarantee from Bender, because Bender had been facing the prospect of involuntary bankruptcy for more than 10 days.

Earlier this year, a group of creditors, led by GulfMark Offshore, filed an involuntary petition to force the shipyard into bankruptcy, claiming that Bender owes them more than $44.6 million, primarily stemming from a contract for three offshore supply vessels that Bender was unable to deliver.