Mezeron & Steam Packet Master Thread

[badlad]

Two points.Firstly, there are a large number of people who are facing an uncertain future and running up to Chistmas makes it even more distressing for them.Secondly, If a shipping company offer to carry tesco trailers for £30 per unit less than mezeron then you will without a shadow of doubt see a new boat in the harbour very soon.

[gazza]

The IOMSP can Charter in ships and have done for a few years, TT period they normally charter extra ships and at times when the Ben is being in Dock for a refit. There may be a restriction on the SP as to how many charters they can have coming into Douglas.

 

Tesco must be well pissed off now, Mezzies boat still not in

http://www.gov.im/tourism/webcam/webcam.aspx?webcam=3

 

Oh shes in Now

 

We speak of charter on a long term basis not as and when required such as TT. This was covered in my post. It might help if the Steampacket could charter bare-boat which is like a lease and means you do not have to buy. This might relieve capital and yet retain essential IOM services.

 

but chartering over 10-20 years will not be cost effective. and have you seen the div payments. they were not short of cash

[manshimajin]

the Smyril ferry looks very similar to the Ben (link on the right of the page), and the video from inside is a bit of an eye opener

Noticeable how crowded the restaurant is on the clip............had been thinking of going that way to Iceland but having seen the video am having second, third and fourth thoughts. Maybe flying is better subject to volcanic activity.

 

As their strap line says....

 

 

Was that word supposed to be Pitchures?

 

Mind you that looks like a bigger ship so maybe....

 

P.S. I guess the videos are on a guitar site because of the rocking and rolling.

[oldmanxfella]

We speak of charter on a long term basis not as and when required such as TT. This was covered in my post. It might help if the Steampacket could charter bare-boat which is like a lease and means you do not have to buy. This might relieve capital and yet retain essential IOM services.

 

Look what happens when iomtoday.co.im stops allowing comments; its long term resident nutjob / loony / writer of long boring diatribes that nobody is interested in immediately registers here. Nobody is interested in your whack-job theories Barrie. There's enough angry nutters on here already and most of them actually live here. You don't so why don't you just sod off?

 

Really? And after all the ships I have run and and chartered? All the articles and books I have published? I am trying to save you from yourselves!

 

You're trying to save us from ourselves? That's a pretty arrogant statement. When the end of the world in nigh for the Manx nation just as the storm clouds gather if I see some hapless loony in a brown bri-nylon suit with their underpants on the outside of their trousers and a tinfoil hat on I'll know that I was wrong to doubt the powers of "Super Barrie" to save us from armageddon.

Edited November 10, 2010 by oldmanxfella

[Barrie Stevens]

The IOMSP can Charter in ships and have done for a few years, TT period they normally charter extra ships and at times when the Ben is being in Dock for a refit. There may be a restriction on the SP as to how many charters they can have coming into Douglas.

 

Tesco must be well pissed off now, Mezzies boat still not in

http://www.gov.im/tourism/webcam/webcam.aspx?webcam=3

 

Oh shes in Now

 

We speak of charter on a long term basis not as and when required such as TT. This was covered in my post. It might help if the Steampacket could charter bare-boat which is like a lease and means you do not have to buy. This might relieve capital and yet retain essential IOM services.

 

The Island's problem is backing up physical shipping ie like real ships as your life line and not falling into the accountancy/balance sheet/hedge fund trap. Physical! Like the Falklands, the Western Isles etc. You need a ship to call your own even if by some fiscal arrangement. Do you really beleiove you can throw it to the market? You need leverage and without it will be subjugated by the EU your situation depends on your transport and your finance and to survive you must use the two as weapons.

 

but chartering over 10-20 years will not be cost effective. and have you seen the div payments. they were not short of cash

[manxfriend]

Times have changed and this shake up should be a chance for all parties to sit down and re-write the user agreement to the benefit of all parties (Islanders / SPC / Gov) and for the SPC to look at their charging strategies, with smaller profit margins.

It's not as simple as that now as the SPCo have now been shown up as extremely vulnerable to even a slight fall in sales/profits. Is it a sound long term service provider to the island? With the exorbitant debt that they are carrying, I wouldn't bet on it. Maybe, as Bill Malarkey intimated, it's time to address the issue once and for all and fix up a long term strategy with (or without) the SPCo....

 

I agree- if the long term debt they are carrying is true – they are vulnerable and not just to competion, but to financial difficulties. But what is this debt? If they had a YE 08 turnover of £55m and made a profit of £9m (paid £17m dividends so resulted in loss of £8) then surely these accounts have taken the debt into account within the long or short term liabilities? Or am I missing the debt/liability in the accounts? These are the last accounts filed at companies’ house, so I can’t read them for YE 09 yet.

Have you read any of the other postings?

 

Ok - let me explain.

 

The debt does not sit with IOMSPC - it sits with another company further up the structure called MIOM Limited. The lender is Banco Espinto Santo de Investimento SA ("BESI") (which, FYI, is NOT part of the MacQuarie group). BESI has legal charges registered over both the Ben and Manannan. It is worth noting that, according to documents filed with the Companies Registry, the Mananna is mortgaged 100% by BESI.

 

IOMSPC therefore does not pay the cost of any interest/ loan repayments, nor do these show in the accounts. The dividends are paid upstream to MIOM who then services the interest payment on the debt, and passes (any) leftover profit upstream.

 

From the select committee findings, it would appear that the loan interest repayments themselves are circa £10million per annum. The loans are 'interest only', therefore at the moment no capital is being repaid.

 

This information is all the the public domain, in the form of the select committee reports and company registry filings.

[Frances]

but chartering over 10-20 years will not be cost effective. and have you seen the div payments. they were not short of cash

The SP is profitable even without the merezon freight but not with the cash demand by McQuarrie (who seem to have realy shafted the Island and have asset stripped as much as they can - if MIOM fails then wouldn't that take SP with it as much of SP's remaining assets seem to be loaned to that company) - if the successor SP reentered the freight only business by a charter then that may allow it to meet most of existing UA using the Ben and the Snaffle (or similar) - the Manannin looks too expensive to operate for too much of the year but does it have any resale value. The main losers would be the Irish service and the peak (unbalanced) loadings required by TT and to a lesser degree MGP.

I suspect Gov have already a contingency plan as to what vessels that could operate in Douglas etc and would be available within a relatively short period to take over from a bankrupt SP.

[Barrie Stevens]

We speak of charter on a long term basis not as and when required such as TT. This was covered in my post. It might help if the Steampacket could charter bare-boat which is like a lease and means you do not have to buy. This might relieve capital and yet retain essential IOM services.

 

Look what happens when iomtoday.co.im stops allowing comments; its long term resident nutjob / loony / writer of long boring diatribes that nobody is interested in immediately registers here. Nobody is interested in your whack-job theories Barrie. There's enough angry nutters on here already and most of them actually live here. You don't so why don't you just sod off?

 

Really? And after all the ships I have run and and chartered? All the articles and books I have published? I am trying to save you from yourselves!

 

You're trying to save us from ourselves? That's a pretty arrogant statement. When the end of the world in nigh for the Manx nation just as the storm clouds gather if I see some hapless loony in a brown bri-nylon suit with their underpants on the outside of their trousers and a tinfoil hat on I'll know that I was wrong to doubt the powers of "Super Barrie" to save us from armageddon.

 

 

And are you a shipbroker? Have you ever been in the international shipping market? Have you ever run ships? I can see where you are going and also I wrote about this very subject in the "Examiner" five years ago and now it is happening. Good stuff I am giving you, and all, free! Stay with the Steamies!

[oldmanxfella]

We speak of charter on a long term basis not as and when required such as TT. This was covered in my post. It might help if the Steampacket could charter bare-boat which is like a lease and means you do not have to buy. This might relieve capital and yet retain essential IOM services.

 

Look what happens when iomtoday.co.im stops allowing comments; its long term resident nutjob / loony / writer of long boring diatribes that nobody is interested in immediately registers here. Nobody is interested in your whack-job theories Barrie. There's enough angry nutters on here already and most of them actually live here. You don't so why don't you just sod off?

 

Really? And after all the ships I have run and and chartered? All the articles and books I have published? I am trying to save you from yourselves!

 

You're trying to save us from ourselves? That's a pretty arrogant statement. When the end of the world in nigh for the Manx nation just as the storm clouds gather if I see some hapless loony in a brown bri-nylon suit with their underpants on the outside of their trousers and a tinfoil hat on I'll know that I was wrong to doubt the powers of "Super Barrie" to save us from armageddon.

 

 

And are you a shipbroker? Have you ever been in the international shipping market? Have you ever run ships? I can see where you are going and also I wrote about this very subject in the "Examiner" five years ago and now it is happening. Good stuff I am giving you, and all, free! Stay with the Steamies!

 

You sent a letter into the Examiner letters page. That is what you did. That is not being an expert, or a journalist, neither is it a published article of any authority. Its just some angry bloke writing to a newspaper about a subject. Your body of work seems to consist of similar warblings and ramblings on a variety of subjects. They are just letters ...

Edited November 10, 2010 by oldmanxfella

[dilligaf]

Seemed to be a good few Graylaw and Tesco trailers on the Ben when it came in tonight

[Andy730]

 

I am trying to save you from yourselves!

 

 

I hope you're getting some sort of help for your god complex.

[Barrie Stevens]

The IOMSP can Charter in ships and have done for a few years, TT period they normally charter extra ships and at times when the Ben is being in Dock for a refit. There may be a restriction on the SP as to how many charters they can have coming into Douglas.

 

Tesco must be well pissed off now, Mezzies boat still not in

http://www.gov.im/tourism/webcam/webcam.aspx?webcam=3

 

Oh shes in Now

 

We speak of charter on a long term basis not as and when required such as TT. This was covered in my post. It might help if the Steampacket could charter bare-boat which is like a lease and means you do not have to buy. This might relieve capital and yet retain essential IOM services.

 

The Island's problem is backing up physical shipping ie like real ships as your life line and not falling into the accountancy/balance sheet/hedge fund trap. Physical! Like the Falklands, the Western Isles etc. You need a ship to call your own even if by some fiscal arrangement. Do you really beleiove you can throw it to the market? You need leverage and without it will be subjugated by the EU your situation depends on your transport and your finance and to survive you must use the two as weapons.

 

but chartering over 10-20 years will not be cost effective. and have you seen the div payments. they were not short of cash

 

 

You do not know until you test the market as opposed to the Steampacket being committed to multi-millions investment under the User Agreement (as I am advised) See Demise Charter as above. It is Mezeron(or nominees) doing the main chartering. The SP is so far owning. I think that it will all end (as usual)

in Manx tears and last minute government scrambling.

[manxfriend]

Times have changed and this shake up should be a chance for all parties to sit down and re-write the user agreement to the benefit of all parties (Islanders / SPC / Gov) and for the SPC to look at their charging strategies, with smaller profit margins.

It's not as simple as that now as the SPCo have now been shown up as extremely vulnerable to even a slight fall in sales/profits. Is it a sound long term service provider to the island? With the exorbitant debt that they are carrying, I wouldn't bet on it. Maybe, as Bill Malarkey intimated, it's time to address the issue once and for all and fix up a long term strategy with (or without) the SPCo....

 

I agree- if the long term debt they are carrying is true – they are vulnerable and not just to competion, but to financial difficulties. But what is this debt? If they had a YE 08 turnover of £55m and made a profit of £9m (paid £17m dividends so resulted in loss of £8) then surely these accounts have taken the debt into account within the long or short term liabilities? Or am I missing the debt/liability in the accounts? These are the last accounts filed at companies’ house, so I can’t read them for YE 09 yet.

Have you read any of the other postings?

 

Ok - let me explain.

 

The debt does not sit with IOMSPC - it sits with another company further up the structure called MIOM Limited. The lender is Banco Espinto Santo de Investimento SA ("BESI") (which, FYI, is NOT part of the MacQuarie group). BESI has legal charges registered over both the Ben and Manannan. It is worth noting that, according to documents filed with the Companies Registry, the Mananna is mortgaged 100% by BESI.

 

IOMSPC therefore does not pay the cost of any interest/ loan repayments, nor do these show in the accounts. The dividends are paid upstream to MIOM who then services the interest payment on the debt, and passes (any) leftover profit upstream.

 

From the select committee findings, it would appear that the loan interest repayments themselves are circa £10million per annum. The loans are 'interest only', therefore at the moment no capital is being repaid.

 

This information is all the the public domain, in the form of the select committee reports and company registry filings.

[Barrie Stevens]

We speak of charter on a long term basis not as and when required such as TT. This was covered in my post. It might help if the Steampacket could charter bare-boat which is like a lease and means you do not have to buy. This might relieve capital and yet retain essential IOM services.

 

Look what happens when iomtoday.co.im stops allowing comments; its long term resident nutjob / loony / writer of long boring diatribes that nobody is interested in immediately registers here. Nobody is interested in your whack-job theories Barrie. There's enough angry nutters on here already and most of them actually live here. You don't so why don't you just sod off?

 

Really? And after all the ships I have run and and chartered? All the articles and books I have published? I am trying to save you from yourselves!

 

You're trying to save us from ourselves? That's a pretty arrogant statement. When the end of the world in nigh for the Manx nation just as the storm clouds gather if I see some hapless loony in a brown bri-nylon suit with their underpants on the outside of their trousers and a tinfoil hat on I'll know that I was wrong to doubt the powers of "Super Barrie" to save us from armageddon.

 

 

And are you a shipbroker? Have you ever been in the international shipping market? Have you ever run ships? I can see where you are going and also I wrote about this very subject in the "Examiner" five years ago and now it is happening. Good stuff I am giving you, and all, free! Stay with the Steamies!

 

You sent a letter into the Examiner letters page. That is what you did. That is not being an expert, or a journalist, neither is it a published article of any authority. Its just some angry bloke writing to a newspaper about a subject. Your body of work seems to consist of similar warblings and ramblings on a variety of subjects. They are just letters ...

 

But a letter from someone with a huge record of writing on shipping matters who deigned to stoop to your level out of care. Have you done anything to match?

[Amadeus]

No probs for this ferry

 

http://www.guitarsolos.com/videos-ferry-in-bad-weather-%5BglRl8QNUPBM%5D.cfm

 

What if the SP were doing a FlyBe, the boats half empty lets blame the weather and not sail to save money

Hehe I bet a few puke bags were dished out on that sailing . Bit confused as to the abundance of shipping videos on a guitar website though

 

Following on from that video, the Smyril ferry looks very similar to the Ben (link on the right of the page), and the video from inside is a bit of an eye opener

True, she does look a bit like the Ben.

 

Ah, rough sailings through the Irish Sea - that was the part I loved about working on the boats

 

Often when SC IOM was cancelled, crew would be asked to volunteer to work on the Ben as it would be full with passengers booked over. The Ben is a right beast in rough water - like a skyscraper, slowly rolling all over the place - unless she hits a wave head-on bottom- down, then it's earthquake time onboard - real good fun

 

Then there was the sailing where SC IOM lost her anchor in rough seas - ripped right out of the hull. Funny vessel, anyway - stand at the aft end of the car deck and look forward in rough seas - you can see the whole thing twist, and not just a little bit. Aluminium, funny stuff...

 

Or the one occasion when the captain decided not to take on passengers in Liv but asked the crew if we would be ok if he brought her back light so we're not stuck there. Everyone agreed and we went for a six hour roller coaster. Galley trashed, fridges ripped out of the shop bulkhead and thrown across the cabin, crew sitting around trying to play gameboy (not easy if you have to hold on all the time) and one captain having a right good time strapped to his seat, battling the elements.

 

Or sleeping in me cabin on the Lady in a force 10 to Liverpool, being shaken to sleep like a baby that someone had left on the big one in Blackpool. That was after I learned that the belt on the bunk is there for a reason and went flying out of it in the middle of the night.

 

Or the one occasion when the sea was flat calm but for some strange reason, the bar on the Lady recorded loads of breakage and the whole crew was having a...let's not go there...

 

Loved the job and would have stayed if the pay wasn't so low.