Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

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COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2017
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

During the third and fourth quarters of 2015, we recorded contract losses of $24.5 million related to a decrease in the contract price due to final weight re-measurements and our inability to recover certain costs on disputed change orders related to a large deepwater project we delivered to our customer in November 2015. No amounts with respect to these disputed change orders are included on our consolidated balance sheet or recognized in revenue in our consolidated statement of operations as of and for the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016. In the second quarter of 2016, we initiated legal action to recover our costs from these disputed change orders. We can give no assurance that our actions will be successful or that we will recover all or any portion of these contract losses from our customer. 

On October 21, 2016, a customer of our Shipyards division announced it was in noncompliance with certain financial covenants included in the customer’s debt agreements. This customer also stated it had received limited waivers from its lenders and noteholders, but its debt agreements will require further negotiation and amendment. On April 19, 2017, the customer stated it had allowed the waivers to expire and remains in default of its covenants.

This same customer has rejected delivery of the vessel that we tendered for delivery on February 6, 2017, alleging certain technical deficiencies exist with respect to the vessel and is seeking recovery of all purchase price amounts previously paid by the customer under the contract. We are also building a second vessel for this customer that is scheduled for delivery during the second quarter of 2017. We disagree with our customer concerning these alleged technical deficiencies and have put the customer in default under the terms of the contracts for both vessels. As of March 31, 2017, approximately $4.6 million remained due and outstanding from our customer for the first vessel. The balance due to us upon delivery for a second vessel which is expected in May of this year is approximately $4.9 million. On March 10, 2017, we gave notice for arbitration with our customer in an effort to resolve this matter. We intend to take all legal action as may be necessary to protect our rights under the contracts and recover the remaining balances owed to us.

We continue to monitor our work performed in relation to our customer’s status and its ability to pay under the terms of these contracts. Because these vessels have been completed or are substantially complete, we believe that they have significant fair value and that we would be able to fully recover any amounts due to us.