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| | | Desgagnés names and launches the M/T Sarah Desgagnés, a new tanker
Groupe Desgagnés celebrated today the christening and naming of the Company's new tanker purchased in February through its subsidiary Transport Desgagnés Inc. This vessel anchored in the Port of Montreal on May 29th 2008, with its cargo consigned from Europe, where it was operating for several months since its release in 2007 from the Gisan Shipyard in Tuzla, Turkey. Mr. Louis-Marie Beaulieu, majority shareholder and chairman of the board and CEO of Desgagnés, also announced its Canadian Flag registration.
With over 147 meters in length, a breadth of 22.4 meters and a draft of 9.49 meters, this double hull oil and chemical tanker has an 18,000 mt deadweight. Built under the auspices of Bureau Veritas, she is rated Ice Class 1A and is fitted with a MAK-7M43, 7,000 kW (9,385 BP) engine with a variable pitch propeller, enabling her to achieve a working speed of 15 knots. She is also equipped with a 750 kW (1,006 BHP) bow thruster. The vessel's 14 tanks and two "slop tanks", of a combined capacity of 20,617 m³ at 98%, allows her to take onboard up to 14 different products with a loading capacity rate of up to 3,600 m³/h for homogeneous products. Fitted with an inert gas system of 3,200 m³/h, she is equipped with 14 pumps of 380 m³/h of which six (6)can be used simultaneously to obtain a discharge capacity rate of 2,280 m³/h.
"Despite an initial outlay of $40 million excluding duty fees, and having been built with state-of-the-art technology, the vessel has seen an additional investment of three-quarter of a million dollars since her arrival for refitting in order that she meet Canadian requirements and to adapt her perfectly to St. Lawrence Seaway navigation" declared Mr. Beaulieu. "Our priorities are security above all else and customer satisfaction", added Mr. Beaulieu.
The ship was christened with much pride the M/T SARAH DESGAGNÉS before a number of dignitaries and partners. In addition to signifying "princess" in Hebrew and being the given name of Sarah Desjardins, niece and godchild of Louis-Marie Beaulieu and his spouse Ms. Johane Desjardins, Sarah was, according to the Book of Genesis, the barren wife of Abraham; however, at an advanced age, she bore their son Isaac who then allowed them to have "descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky". Mr. Beaulieu declared that he hoped that "Desgagnés' future is as promising as Abraham's posterity!". After a traditional blessing offered by Julien R. Beaulieu, collaborator priest with the Military Diocese of Canada at the 19th wing of Comox in British Columbia, and also the brother of Mr. Louis-Marie Beaulieu, Ms. Johane Desjardins, the vessel's godmother, proceeded to christen the vessel.
This christening was also marked with the symbolic Canadian Flag registration. The Company underlined that the vessel was originally purchased to operate mainly in Canada and more specifically as a solution to Ultramar's increased production and its growing transportation requirements between Lévis and Montréal, to which she would be mainly assigned until the construction of a pipeline planned by Ultramar.
"Since the purchase of the Sarah Desgagnés, the Canadian Market for transportation of petroleum products has been marked by a significant decrease in demand" specified Mr. Beaulieu. "Taking into consideration the situation in Canada, the vessel will operate mainly abroad in the coming weeks, but we will maintain the vessel under Canadian Flag with her Canadian crew until the market situation becomes clearer", he added.
Desgagnés, through its subsidiary Petro-Nav Inc., is one of the largest marine carriers of chemical products in Canada and the only one based in the province of Québec, having signed long-term contracts with Petro-Canada, Shell and Ultramar, not to mention the Fédération des Coopératives du Nouveau-Québec, Kildair, Air Canada et Sunoco, amongst others. Furthermore, Petro-Nav will assume the marketing of the M/T Sarah Desgagnés, in Canada as well as abroad. Mr. Beaulieu added that "with the present market conditions, this will be a real challenge for the Petro-Nav team, who counts, of course, on the full collaboration of its commercial partners to ensure the success of the vessel's marketing."
Mr. Beaulieu also declared that he was "very proud of the 27 direct new jobs created by this addition to our fleet, on top of the indirect jobs and economic spin-offs that will also be generated by this acquisition". He mentioned that this investment, which can reach almost $50 million including duty fees, immediately follows that of nearly $40 million made last July for the purchase of the new cargo ship M/T Rosaire A .Desgagnés, and is part of Desgagnés' fleet rejuvenation plan which will continue over the months and years to come. Desgagnés will on the other hand take possession this coming Fall of two new vessels similar to the M/T Rosaire A. Desgagnés in addition to the undergoing building of a new vessel for the servicing of Anticosti Island and the Lower North Shore, for global investments in the vicinity of $250 million.
With its head office in Québec City, Desgagnés is a conglomerate that has, since the 19th Century, specialized in marine carriage and transportation of liquid and solid bulk, general cargo and also passengers. With gross receipts exceeding $170 million and over 850 employees in peak season, its activities also extend to marine vessel repairs and maintenance, as well as the rental and operation of heavy machinery. The Company owns and/or operates a fleet of 16 motor vessels with an overall deadweight of almost 165,000 mt; they cover the St. Lawrence River Network and the Great Lakes, the Canadian Eastern Arctic, the East coasts of Canada and the United States, as well as the seas worldwide. | | | |
| Québec, June 13, 2008 | | Groupe Desgagnés Inc. |
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