The Latest with the Car Barges

Well folks, it looks like we’re down another car barge. According to the St. John Tradewinds News, the General failed inspection last Friday. We heard it’s front gate malfunctioned and that could be the cause. Either way, that leaves us with only the Captain Vic, which is the smallest of the car barges. The Island Vic is running, but it is not certain if it is transporting cars/Jeeps in addition to the regular big trucks and containers it hauls. We did read, again via the Tradewinds, that a new ramp had been installed (thanks for the info Tradewinds) but the current status remains unknown.

So what does this mean? Give yourself oodles of time if you plan to travel between St. John and St. Thomas via barge.

So what’s the latest with the Mister B, which was seized by federal marshals back in January … well it’s still sitting in Enighed Pond to the tune of $1,211 per day. This means that since the date it was seized, it has cost more than $125,000 to keep it sitting there. Here’s how that cost breaks down:

• Custodial fees cost $600 per day
• Security guard services cost $480 per day
• Wharfage costs $82 per day
• Insurance costs $49 per day

Revere High Yield Fund, the company that gave the loan to Boyson Inc. – who then failed to make payments on it prompting the seizure of its vessel, the Mister B – wants no part of the boat and they are seeking an immediate sale. In court docs, they point out a particular concern due to the impending arrival of hurricane season stating the “vessel is subject to impending injury.” They continued to say:

“Neither Revere nor the Substitute Custodian wish to be responsible for Mister B through such unpredictable weather patterns, and it is likely that any purchaser/bidder would equally disfavor taking control of such a large asset on short notice during hurricane season. To avoid such a result, Revere wishes to begin the sale process immediately. There is no guarantee that the first attempted sale will be successful or confirmed, such that if multiple sales are needed, the transfer of ownership can happen in advance of dangerous weather.”

Revere values the Mister B at just under $4 million. It suggests the vessel goes up for public sale with an opening bid price of $2.1 million. If that fails, they suggest it go up at a second public sale with an opening bid price of $1 million. The court agreed; however a sale date has yet to be set.

We’ll keep you all posted on this.