Ice Maiden contract collapses

The Ice Maiden 1 conversion contract at A&P Tyne, Hebburn, should have kept several hundred workers busy until next March. But the order is now in doubt after troubled Scottish company C&M Group went into administration this week, after serious cash-flow problems.

A&P Tyne managing director David Skentelbery said: “Obviously, we are trying not to lose money on the work we’ve already done on Ice Maiden 1. This contract would have set us up for nine months, so this situation is very frustrating.”

Skentelbery revealed two smaller ship repair contracts were lined up, but he added: “What we need is a substantial piece of work to provide continuity for the yard. We have to go out and find this work to tide us over.”

Meanwhile, there are hopes that a buyer could soon be found for the electrical contracting division of the Aberdeen-based C&M Group. A spokeswoman for Deloitte in Scotland, which is handling the administration, said: “This is a very experienced unit, with a solid customer base. We have already had promising interest expressed by local firms interested in taking it over.”

But there is still no word of any potential companies bidding to take over the other part of the Scottish oil service operation, which includes the Ice Maiden 1 contract. C&M had recently been hit by delays and overspending on a US ship conversion, possibly running into millions of pounds. A probe into the management of the business last year resulted in the sacking of two company directors.