Siem Group still wants to take delivery of a large car carrier lying partly completed in Croatia if the yard can solve its financial crisis.
Alex Gregg-Smith, vice president of technical at Siem Shipping, told TradeWinds that the vessel, which was launched last year and is destined for the fleet of subsidiary Siem Car Carriers, is around 75% finished.
It is one of five approximately 7,000-ceu newbuildings ordered by Siem at Uljanik Group.
The Siem Cicero was delivered in 2017, but orders for the other four were subsequently cancelled because of the builders’ inability to deliver in accordance with the contracts.
Gregg-Smith said the second in the series, the Siem Ashanti, lies unfinished at Uljanik’s daughter 3 Maj shipyard but, contrary to local reports, work never started on the remaining trio.
He said Siem is waiting to hear what Uljanik and the Croatian government decide about the builders’ future.
Uljanik faces the threat of bankruptcy after the government refused to back a $1bn-plus restructuring plan towards the end of last month.
Almost 3,000 people work at the group, which has been hit by cash-flow problems, strikes over unpaid wages and a string of cancellations by various owners.
TradeWinds reported last week that potential rescue talks had started with China.
Gregg-Smith said Siem had no option but to cancel its remaining orders when Uljanik and 3 Maj hit the vessel cancellation dates.
Uljanik Group was not in a position to extend the refund guarantees and Siem risked losing tens of millions of dollars or claim under those guarantees. Those payments have since been received.
“They keep saying they will finish the second vessel,” said Gregg-Smith, who is also chief executive of Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft in Germany. Delivery of the Siem Ashanti was pencilled in for late 2018 or early 2019.
Gregg-Smith said work had stopped on the second car carrier, as far as he was aware.
“We are waiting for the shipyard to come back and tell us what is happening,” he said.
Siem Car Carriers chartering manager Marius Toft said the cancellations did “create some challenges because we had planned on these ships”.
But plans were rearranged, including extending charters on other vessels, and all requirements are covered.
The Siem Ashanti is intended to operate in the Atlantic between Germany, the US and Mexico.
Siem Car Carriers also has two 7,700-ceu LNG-fuelled newbuildings on order in China in a project with charterer Volkswagen. Shell is to bunker the vessels in Emden in northern Germany and Jacksonville, Florida.
