Metal Shark acquires Horizon

JEANERETTE, La. - Following a motion approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court Southern District of Alabama on June 5, Louisiana-based shipbuilder Metal Shark has acquired the assets of Alabama-based Horizon Shipbuilding. With the acquisition, Metal Shark assumes ownership of a fully developed 35-acre shipbuilding facility in Bayou La Batre - some 30 miles south of Mobile - with separate east and west yards both fronting a dredged deep-water inlet from Mobile Bay. The facility has nine assembly buildings; a 660-ton Travelift; multiple cranes, CNC plasma cutters, welders, and other fixtures supporting the construction of steel and aluminum vessels up to 300-feet and 1,500 tons of launch weight. (Plasma cutting is a process that cuts through electrically conductive materials by means of an accelerated jet of hot plasma.) Metal Shark’s new Alabama shipyard is situated minutes from the Intracoastal Waterway with direct access to the Gulf of Mexico. Metal Shark will use the facility to design and construct custom steel vessels for multiple markets, as well as the refit, repair, and conversion of existing vessels. Since bankruptcy filings, Horizon has operated under the direction CEO Travis R. Short. With the acquisition, Short will join Metal Shark and serve as Executive VP, according to Metal Shark’s CEO Chris Allard. (Source: Metal Shark 06/11/18)