COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES |
12 Months Ended |
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Dec. 31, 2018 | |
| Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] | |
| COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES |
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
We are subject to various routine legal proceedings in the normal conduct of our business, primarily involving commercial disputes and claims, workers’ compensation claims, and claims for personal injury under general maritime laws of the U.S. and the Jones Act. While the outcome of these lawsuits, legal proceedings and claims cannot be predicted with certainty, we believe that the outcome of any such proceedings, even if determined adversely, would not have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
MPSV Termination Letter
We received notices of termination of the contracts for the construction of two MPSVs from one of our Shipyard Division customers. We dispute the purported terminations and disagree with the customer’s reasons for such terminations. Pending the resolution of the dispute, we have ceased all work and the partially completed MPSVs and associated equipment and materials remain at our shipyard in Houma, Louisiana. The customer also notified our Surety of its purported terminations of the construction contracts and made claims under the bonds issued by the Surety in connection with the construction of the two MPSVs. We have notified and met with our Surety regarding our disagreement with, and objection to, the customer's purported termination and its claims. Discussions with the Surety are ongoing. On October 2, 2018, we filed a lawsuit against the customer to enforce our rights and remedies under the applicable construction contracts. Our lawsuit disputes the propriety of the customer’s purported termination of the construction contracts and seeks to recover damages associated with the customer’s actions. The customer filed its response to our lawsuit denying many of the allegations in the lawsuit and asserting a counterclaim against us seeking, among other things, declaratory judgment as to the validity of the customer’s purported terminations of the construction contracts and other purported claims for which the customer is seeking damages in an unspecified amount. We have filed a response to the counterclaim denying all of the customer’s claims. Subsequent to December 31, 2018, the customer filed a motion with the court seeking, among other things, to obtain possession of the two MPSVs. We intend to respond to the motion at the appropriate time.
We are unable to estimate the probability of a favorable or unfavorable outcome with respect to the dispute or estimate the amount of potential loss, if any, related to this matter. We can provide no assurances that we will not incur additional costs as we pursue our rights and remedies under the contracts and defend against the customer’s claims. At December 31, 2018, other noncurrent assets on our Balance Sheet included a net contract asset of $12.5 million, which consisted of our contract asset, accrued contract losses, and deferred revenue balances at the time of the customer's purported termination of the contracts.
Insurance
We may be exposed to future losses through our use of deductibles and self-insured retentions for our exposures related to third party liability and workers' compensation. We expect liabilities in excess of any deductibles and self-insured retentions to be covered by insurance. To the extent we are self-insured, reserves are recorded based upon our estimates, with input from legal and insurance advisors. Changes in assumptions, as well as changes in actual experience, could cause these estimates to change.
Letters of Credit and Surety Bonds
We obtain letters of credit under our Credit Agreement or surety bonds from financial institutions to provide to our customers in order to secure advance payments or guarantee performance under our contracts, or in lieu of retention being withheld on our contracts. With respect to a letter of credit under our Credit Agreement, any advance payment in the event of non-performance under a contract would become a borrowing under our Credit Agreement and thus a direct obligation. With respect to a surety bond, any advance payment in the event of non-performance is subject to indemnification of the surety by us, which may require us to borrow under our Credit Agreement. When a contract is complete, the contingent obligation terminates and letters of credit or surety bonds are returned. See Note 7 for further discussion of our Credit Agreement and surety bonds.
Environmental Matters
Our operations are subject to extensive and changing U.S. federal, state and local laws and regulations, as well as the laws of other countries, that establish health and environmental quality standards. These standards, among others, relate to air and water pollutants and the management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes. We are exposed to potential liability for personal injury or property damage caused by any release, spill, exposure or other accident involving such pollutants, substances or wastes.
In connection with the historical operation of our facilities, including those associated with acquired operations, substances which currently are or might be considered hazardous were used or disposed of at some sites that will or may require us to make expenditures for remediation.
We believe we are in compliance, in all material respects, with environmental laws and regulations and maintain insurance coverage to mitigate exposure to environmental liabilities. We do not believe any environmental matters will have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flow.
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