Florida-based Seabulk Tankers has come out swinging in defence of its decision to double-hull two of its older Jones Act chemical tankers in China.
Speaking in a recent interview at the Manhattan offices of Seabulk parent Seacor, the company's executives said they had priced the job at US yards but found it cost-prohibitive.
And in an ironic twist, some of the US yards aggrieved by Seabulk's overseas tack may themselves be employing foreign nationals because of shortages in US labour, says Seacor chairman, president and chief executive officer Charles Fabrikant.
