LNG barge losses push Conrad Industries into red, delivery delayed

Conrad Industries reported a US$4.7 million loss for the third quarter and an $858,000 for the first nine months of 2016 as losses on the LNG bunker barge project reached $12.5 million.

The Lousiana-Based shipbuilder said that the total LNG barge job-to-date loss reached $16.5 million, attributing the losses mainly to changes required by regulatory authorities, which increased costs and caused delays.

In addition, this caused higher than expected equipment costs, resulting from the vessel being the first of its kind produced in North America, Conrad said in its report on Friday.

The company recognized an $8 million loss in the third quarter and a $4.5 million loss in the second quarter as well as a $4.0 million loss on the LNG barge for the year ended December 31, 2015.

Delays caused by the regulatory changes have pushed the company to adjust the anticipated delivery of the LNG barge to the second quarter of 2017 and revise the contract terms with the customer. The 2,200-cbm LNG barge was scheduled for delivery in mid-2016 initially.

However, Conrad Industries noted that despite the most of the regulatory review process being complete, there are still regulatory and execution risks associated with completing the vessel.

The vessel has been ordered by WesPac Midstream and Clean Marine Energy to be deployed in Tacoma, Washington, for TOTE. The barge will later be relocated to Jacksonville, Florida to serve TOTE’s Marlin class duel-fuel container vessels and other LNG-fueled vessels in the Port of Jacksonville.

The vessel will be classed by the American Bureau of Shipping and features a single tank equipped with GTT’s Mark III Flex cargo containment system.

 

LNG World News Staff