Harvey Gulf's Guidry Remains Confident as Bankruptcy Plays Out

 

In a terse E-mailed letter addressed to 'Valued Harvey Gulf Customers,' the U.S. flag offshore energy support CEO this weekend said, "I am pleased to report that the Bankruptcy Court has granted all of the first day relief requested by Harvey Gulf in our Chapter 11 proceedings. The motions were uncontested, and the court recognized the overwhelming support for the prepackaged plan by Harvey Gulf’s lenders and equity holders."   

 

The letter continued, "Among the most significant relief granted was that Harvey Gulf is authorized to pay our all of our vendors in full and in our normal course of business. This is true both for services performed before, and after, our filing date. Harvey Gulf is permitted to contract, provide services, and make payments, all in our normal course of business going forward." 

 

Guidry finished up with some timing advice and one of his trademark predictions, adding, "I am also pleased to report that the judge set a confirmation hearing for April 24, 2018 for my company to exit Chapter 11, at which time it will be fully restructured, with a very robust balance sheet, with approximately $1 billion dollars of less debt, and possibly having achieved the quickest ever chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring for a company this size."

 

Responding to queries from MarineNews for further clarification, Guidry responded via E-mail, "The restructuring will allow me to continue to dominate the US market since both my competitors haven’t, that being Hornbeck and Chouest. With 1 billion of less debt, we’ll be able to give much better pricing on a long term basis during this prolonged downturn and still be profitable."  

 

Asked about the fate of the 'Q-LNG' collaboration with Shell - the project involving a newbuild LNG ATB bunker vessel - Guidry replied, "QLNG is and will remain separate from Harvey. Harvey is merely a minority shareholder minority rights only. I own 70 percent of QLNG and will forever." He added, "As far as our new build program, we have only one vessel left to deliver to ourselves from our Shipyard."

 

Last week's news that Louisiana-based Harvey Gulf International Marine LLC, which has more than 50 vessels in its offshore support fleet, had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Houston rattled an already shaky Jones Act offshore support market. Shane Guidry, this weekend, nevertheless remained optimistic and put a positive spin on last week's news, and the road ahead.