Roundtable Discussion; The Future of Mineral Sands. Watch the video here.
Excellent. Lengthy, informative and highly accurate post Mr East.
We may all be “jumping the gun here” a little however as I understood that there were quite some deliberations to consider still by Daera.
This is quite frankly a humdigger of a decision to have to make by the Minister.
He will be battling the environmentalists and their legitimate aims against all our experts + the stated policy of the Gov. to support “shovel ready” projects and jobs like ours now.. more so with the crucial importance potentially again of H&W to the employment and commercial status and wellbeing of Belfast + it’s environs.
Remember too that a JR is not cheap . It will cost nearly £1k in fees to get off the ground ...also involve “expensive lawyers” ( I used to be one of them before retirement!) time delays and generally a lot of bother all around . If not successful any applicant will have to foot the bill of our “expensive” lawyers and that does not just include our newly found friendly-faced solicitor from Belfast but also probably Senior Counsel ..and guaranteed for such have to be given up front !! wow some risk and take note ... after all that who knows we may still be OK !!
.....is shown to be moored by Viking Sun,just outside the Building Dock ..she is a UK Registerd Chemical Tanker .Will be interesting to know the intentions.
I happened to be reading last eve about the horrors involved in decommissioning ships and Rigs on the NW Coast of India and Bangladesh ..no hint of and compliance with either H.R. care or environmental considerations.
With all the redundant Rigs from the N Sea and Covid related scrappages and the fact we are fully licencensed and compliant that should be a money spinner ..though the problem could be capacity ,namely say we could accommodate a large rig in the Building Dock ,then we lose the capacity for the "little" ships to come amd go and have their "tyres changed" ...Upon second thoughts best to build modules for the Type 31's or even a FSS with Navantia ?/All to consider and play for here !!
.... sells out at 15.55 netting .38p before costs .. must be some financial wizardry!!!
Me too..but still prepared to give JW and team some benefit for progressing us so far bearing in mind past debacles such as Woodburn F and others in the past .. the frustration for us LTH’s is that IM is proving a tough nut to crack ,H&W has been exciting but costly in short term and Barrow seems to have gone quiet .. some of the early optimism about IM and lack of news has somewhat dampened our outlook especially when the losses continue .. but H&W was such a steal that I remain committed... just for now but patience is being tested after 18 month’s wait for ML and all the follow ons !!!!!
Most Certainly,Loosegoose....the capital raise was not just for loan and debt repayments but as a raise to fund a secure capital base to give comfort to shipowners /offshore wind farm players that we are resourced and can perform .As you know most contract payments ( if not by staged pyments ) are made after performance and signing off of the work ...and that has to be funded up front ...looking very good now but patience for a while is still needed !!
1. As Chrisatrdg posted earlier the Placees (including probably existing II's) would have been shown a prospectus and allowed a Covid compliant presentation before making any decision and the fact that the relatively huge placement has ocurred successfully in these difficult times speaks volumes for our "little" AIM tiddler with "big" ambitions and a superb iconic asset !!
2. I have noted the comments about the authorities and Daera still not being able to give any hint of a timetable and I do know that the Board will have consistently and still continues to gently lobby and to put pressure on those that may have influence regarding decisions for the ML.But Daera are not the only department under Covid clouds... OK, we seem to recently have appointed a Project Manager for IM which sounds promising and taking into account the info. that would have been able to be dsclosed in para 1 above then all may not be lost for IM...But I just wonder that had we somehow been able to move forward much quicker say a couple of years ago then would we still have had the chance for securing or been interested in H&W.After all it was the proximity of H&W to IM for ease of fabrication work that was then the catalyst.?We seem to have change course and are now firmly on the road trying to re-vive the yard and the whole area of the Lagan Outer Basin Commercial District.
3.H&W and it's new professional team will source and may have already secured other Cruise Liner Refurbishments/Updates..We have Stena firmly on board and expertise with Off Shore Wind Farms and potential for Decommissioning of course .......and Team Resolute may still come good ...you never know especially as the Gov intends to send Queen Elizabeth to the Sprattleys !! She will surely need protection and support !
4. Gas will still be king for the immediate future.Covid may have upset and limited the day to day workings of Daera,Passport and Land Registry /Probate Offices but it has also seriously put back Nuclear ..the Times today reports of very serious delays now on Hinckley B and cost overruns etc ..AND then there is Sizewell C and involvement by our Far Eastern Friends !!?
5....and then there is Hydrogen !!!
and there must be more ..let's here from you ...good positive rise today above .35p !
INFA was one of “ The Shares of The Year” as recommended by the Sunday Times ....... in 2001 when over a £1 per share and Andrew Hindle was exciting us all about Gas Storage in Salt Caverns on Portland Bill. Then known as Portland Gas Plc. Exiting times and a real roller coaster since but never so promising as now .. especially with Hydrogen about to explode!!.. Very Attractive!
.......... Catching the Crabs !! in Orkney,all well and good to combat the dreaded Sturgeon....We now need him to have a photo shot at H&W not just to cement the Union with N.I. but to bolster his stated faith in U.K. Nationwide Shipbuilding.It would be opportune to do this sooner than later whislt the Vikings are with us.By the way,Chris,a fantastic arial shot in your last post ..just what I hade hoped to see !!
Hi folks .. is a there anyone there today or indeed this week ?!!
Need to start a blog as per the header so let’s here from you as I know that you are there and hiding ! Here’s just a couple to get started:
1. Why exactly are the Vikings with us ? Is is marine overhauls such a bottom scraping. Propeller alignment... or Post Covid compliance work to the facilities on board etc?
2. How best can we use IM for Hydrogen Storage as the gas seems to be the flavour of the Times now ?
Next please ......
Whilst the project is badly needed for Carrier support, is “Spade Ready “ and Team Resolute is in the Premier League Covid yet again has knocked the finances to bits as the Gov seems keen to throw money at nail bars and pubs etc rather than generating “real”!work for “ real” boys .. and gals.
The project should benefit all UK ???? yards and keep the workforce skilled that it is in place . For many years Governments have shied away from supporting critical heavy industries such as Nuclear, Aerospace ,and of course Shipbuilding
Having said that it is probably 60/40!against My sources say that Ben Wallace is a good buddy of Bojo and if Bojo wants to send the Queen Liz to the South China Seas, then it jolly well will need some support not just from the one current active vessel which is well past it’s sell by date . Thoughts to ponder. Chris the link is with The D Tellygraph two days ago !!
Good find, Chris, again .. keep watching and us ship spotters posted .. Dry docking is indeed what we need . One of the other Vikings seems to have moved around to the Cruise Terminal or just by the Dock Gates .. interesting!!
Hmmm .should have read in post below "II's not PI's already on board will support... ....Am confident that they will support JW's proposals .sorry about that ! You never know most of us PI's may do so too !!
Thank you ,Radders ....I remember Feb 2019 well -we had all chased and /or followed the price up in the then expectation of ML or something akin and splat... before we had time to think about taking some profit, most of us have suffered losses in the meantime but those that have kept the faith will have been able to reduce their break even ..
I reckon that the PI's already on board will go with the proposals and affirm,showing a strong vote of confidence in JW..always remember,folks, the wise words of Shakespeare .."There come a Time in the Affairs of Man ,which when taken at the flood,leads on to fortune".
Regarding the rather scurillous earlier post ,and having read the report at the time, JW had built up MSC Europe from scratch to a £25m Company and was "let down " by non payment of over £2m from an "unnamed overseas yard" .JW may well have sufferd losses himself at the time and as you say lessons would have been learned the very hard way by a then more youthful looking entrepreneur.
Had JW not acquired valued experience thereafter and been head hunted for the role in 2017 Infa would probably not exist now. He joined Infa with a very weak capital base and an almost non existent team ( one man and two dogs set up ?) after some years of high expenditure and no results ,chanced his expertise in sorting the paperwork and requirments for Daera.Chanced the punt on H&W ( no meanfeat for a tiddler like us ) moved the ship to more experienced Legal advisers ( Field Fisher) sussed out the Barrow Project ..and all the time remained and increased his own investment /risk in the projects ..all ably supported by his Oil Trader friend you know who !!
Nothing Ventured,Nothing Gained .just so true here ..all to play for ..still a bit choppy out there !!
....and no mention made of JW’s considerable success and achievements subsequent with BAE Systems.
ML is delayed by Covid with 60% of civil servants still not back at their desks and I vouch for this from my own business dealings !!
H&W has survived the most dire of times with Covid for 3 months + but needs a stronger capital base to move forward and secure the deals that are appearing ... onwards and upwards !!!
AGREED... Mr D .. All comments about the team spirit augur well for us .To raise £6m in one morning and now £9m in a very tight and difficult market shows how much esteem we are held despite no ML. As others have said eloquently today when Blue Chip companies like Viking or Vitol are dealing with us they will want to see capital clout to back up performance guarantees.. this is what today achieves !
At least the GM is to be held at the Company’s offices not at Field Fisher ( rather plush ) .. will be interesting to see how big JW’s desk is and how many plates are still spinning !!
Yes yes .....ML WILL happen --JW would indeed not have appointed a Project Manager and "risked " higher leaverage for H&W if he thought otherwise ..all good !!Fundamentals ...Fundamentals
Today is par for the course,I suppose.On the negative side no sign of ML and I.M. is at the end on the back burner (no more "Gas" puns please!) On the positve as I have said many time H&W is a gem and the pride of Belfast ..If only Bojo and Co could invest in heavy Industry rather than nail bars ! H&W when well funded will prosper without Government support as it has unique facilities which have been allowed to fall into decay over many years .The current team will rectify this.
Mr John Wood Is a true visionary . He is not A SHORT TERMER. He has form. Assembled a cracking ( no puns please !) team ,sorted major issues out with I.M. .brought along Arun R and his connections with Vitol." Stolen" H&W such that we are now at the top table with BAE Systems and Babthingymjig ( if you spell it out correctly the type just explodes !) in discussions with Navy/Defence contracts...and much more.Assembled an expert team at H&W from previous connections with Bae.
JW interestingly has posted onTwitter some kind comments about Princess Cruises this week ..could be a subtle clue.
No young enterprise like ours can prosper without a sound capital base ..be glad to see the back of some of the recent "expensive loans " --all good today .Hold on !! No mention of entreprenerial help from the Gov of subtance .we have to do it ourselves and that it was is happening .Bamfords have doen it with WrightBus at Ballymena .we are doing likewise.!!
Please send photo of wife !!!.Cookiecrew !!
Crikey.. that’s a bit rich and provocative !!
Aim is the Wild West and indeed Infa has had its problems but be assured if we can overcome the imminent hurdle ( and we all know what that is ) and with the gem of H&W starting to produce nett income we shall overcome the doomsayers for once and for all ... lots lots in the pipeline and to look forward to IMHO !!
Spud ..by far the best picture /photo opportunity shot of at least two Vikings yet ..well done,Sir !!