New York-based Bouchard Transportation Company says it has secured financing to start paying its tug and barge crews, including back pay.
“Over the weekend Bouchard was able to close on financing to start paying back vessel wages and meet other outstanding indebtedness, necessary to meet all our obligations,” President and CEO “Mort” Bouchard said in a letter distributed to the media.
“This could not be better news,” he said.
Since the beginning of the year, Bouchard crews across the country have been withheld pay and forced to remain on board their vessels at the directive of the U.S. Coast Guard as Bouchard chased financing to meet its obligations.
“Last week I was happy to inform you that Bouchard Transportation Co Inc. was issued a DOC for 90 days,” Mr. Bouchard said. “And now with financing in place and as we all focus on stabilizing the company, I wish to assure everyone that we will continue to work towards returning the company to fully meeting the high expectations of our clients, vendors and valued employees.”
The “DOC” refers to Bouchard’s Document of Compliance certificate, which is required by the Coast Guard for persons or companies who own certain U.S.-flagged vessels and certifies satisfactory completion of a safety management audit. A spokesman for the Bouchard said the temporary DOC was issued as Bouchard changes classification societies to DNV GL.
“The past two months, Bouchard Transportation Co Inc. has been faced with enormous challenges both financially and operationally,” said Mr. Bouchard.
“Bouchard has the best tug and barges in the industry supported by the best vessel employees, advisors and management.”
Bouchard Transportation’s website says it is the nation’s largest independently-owned ocean-going petroleum barge company, operating 26 tugs and 25 tank barges across the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. The majority are double-hulled articulated tug and barge units (ATBs). The company was established in 1918 and remains family-owned and run by President and CEO Morton S. Bouchard III, who has been at the helm since 1992.
COPENHAGEN, April 15 (Reuters) – Shipping company Maersk has not made any deployment changes after a Portuguese-flagged container ship was seized by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, the Danish company said on Monday. “We find recent...
WASHINGTON, April 15 (Reuters) – The FBI has opened a federal criminal investigation into the deadly collapse of a Baltimore bridge last month when a ship crashed into one of its supports,...
By Daryna Krasnolutska (Bloomberg) Russia and Ukraine may have struggled to shift things significantly on the battlefield for more than 16 months, but a new phase of the war is moving...
April 14, 2024
Total Views: 2103
Why Join the gCaptain Club?
Access exclusive insights, engage in vibrant discussions, and gain perspectives from our CEO.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.