MS voids TopSail investment deal

Mississippi has voided its deal with Louisiana-based Edison Chouest shipbuilding subsidiary TopShip after the firm missed a Dec. 31 deadline to invest $68M and hire 1,000 workers at the Port of Gulfport, Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) spokesperson Melissa Scallan told the Sun Herald of Biloxi. The MDA turned down a proposal by Edison Chouest Offshore to cut in half its investment, Scallan said. But the law approving the incentives at the higher number did not leave the state with wiggle room to alter the deal. The Mississippi State Port Authority spent $32M to buy 116 acres at the port. Port Director Jonathan Daniels says Topship paid $16M of that and is making monthly lease payments of $85,000, plus interest. As of September, a total of 587 jobs had been created and verified, according to port spokesperson Kimberly Aguillard. Of that number, 352 jobs were for low- to-middle income people. The port has three years to meet the jobs mandate from the date HUD OKs the work on the port, Aguillard said. The clock could start running within 30 to 40 days following a HUD visit next week, she said. Topship builds vessels to service offshore drilling platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. The project(s) “certainly haven’t developed the way we had hoped,” Daniels said, “but we are willing to work with them so that they can maximize use of the site for job creation and business development. It’s a very flexible facility. It really could prove for a very unique production space.” (Source: The AP 02/16/19)