AKER PHILADELPHIA SHIPYARDSource: The McClean Group LLC36 I Maritime Professional I 4Q 2013
times. We will build off the past, but not be tied to it.”In a nutshell, Aker had to put into place the public/privatepartnership in order to build hull numbers 17 & 18. These, inturn, yielded hull numbers 19 and 20 – the SeaRiver hulls.Scott Clapham, SVP Projects and Business Improvements,told MarPro during the same visit, “We aim to keep the equipmentand the yard moving and working.” But, unlike otherstrying to do the same thing elsewhere, Aker had to prove itsmettle up front by building the spec hulls. Eschewing a largershort term payoff, the Crowley profit-sharing deal set up thelong term benefit of a deeper Crowley relationship and withthat, the longer term viability of the shipyard.Hull numbers 17 and 18 involved profit sharing. And, whileRokke might have a lot of faith in the product tanker market,he certainly couldn’t have known that just as these hulls hit themarket that Jones Act freight rates would turn decidedly north,yielding some of the best numbers ever seen in this market.More opportunistic creativity would follow. Next came the jointventure; with 49 percent Aker / 51 percent Crowley ownership(IAW Jones Act compliance), a deal which began to increasecash flow consistent with the steady business. Aker’s CEO added,“We have a history of being creative to maximize opportunitiesfor our stakeholders. The spec vessels are examples of that.”Rokke explains the big picture even further. “It was by successfullydelivering on our commitments to American Shipping/OSGthat put us in position to build the spec vessels.”And the spec hulls were important in that Aker chose a provenhull design from Korea, something that would appeal to riskaverseJones Act potential buyers. Eventually, the spec boatswere sold for $90 million each and a profit-sharing arrangement.Rokke adds, “Our long term belief in the market has ourshipyard in a position to succeed.”Today, with Aker riding the meteoric climb in its stock (3,500percent in comparison with the SP 500 over the same timeframe),Aker’s joint venture with Crowley is just one more reason forRokke to be optimistic. “We will also contribute significantamounts of capital to the project with Crowley in the driver’sseat. It gives our shareholders direct exposure to the shale boomand we like the risk/reward of the investment. It is a partnershipthat we are very excited about. Crowley is first-class operatorand we build quality ships. That adds value for the end user.”SMITH BERGER MARINE, INC.OFFERS A COMPLETE LINE OFBest Practices: Here, Abroad and Internally at Aker“Our goal is to always be better today than we were yesterday.”That’s Kristian Rokke’s stock answer to queriesabout what Aker is doing better than the rest of the JonesAct shipbuilding market and what Aker – and the rest of theU.S. shipbuilders – need to do to catch up with their foreigncounterparts. He added simply, “We focus on delivering onour commitments to the customer.” That entails taking ‘bestpractices’ from other yards around the world, including Ko-SAFE - RELIABLE - ECONOMICALSmith Berger Marine, Inc. builds a full range of Shark Jaws for AnchorHandling Tug Supply vessels. Standard ratings are 100, 200, 350, 500and 750 metric tons and all units have Quick Release at the rated load.Smith Berger flexibility allows us to customize our equipment to suit theoperating characteristics of your vessel. Third party certification, loadtests, release tests and load monitoring systems are available options.Rely on the 100 year history of Smith Berger to outfit your vessel withour rugged and dependable equipment.SHARK JAWS • TOWING PINS • STERN ROLLERSSmith Berger Marine, Inc. 7915 10th Ave., S., Seattle, WA 98108 USATel. 206.764.4650 • Toll Free 888.726.1688 • Fax 206.764.4653E-mail: sales@smithberger.com • Web: www.smithberger.com