FROM: EXPORT-IMPORT BANK
Ex-Im Guarantees $20 Million Loan to Finance Export of Liftboat
by Louisiana Small Business
Washington, D.C. – The board of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) voted to guarantee a $19.9 million loan extended by HSBC Bank to Michharry & Company Ltd. of Port Harcourt, Nigeria, that will facilitate the export of one used liftboat provided by Offshore Liftboats LLC, a small business located in Cut Off, La.
The transaction will support approximately 100 U.S. small-business jobs, according to bank estimates derived from Departments of Commerce and Labor data and methodology.
"Ex-Im Bank’s financing will boost the sale of American watercraft to one of our nine key markets and support U.S. small business jobs here at home," said Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg. "Ex-Im’s support helps the company’s Nigerian customer purchase a high-quality liftboat that reflects the craftsmanship and dedication of American workers."
Established in 2000, Offshore Liftboats provides self-propelled, self-elevating, liftboats to energy-production and service companies. Among Offshore Liftboats’ clients are Energy XXI and Chet Morrison Contractors.
"The sale of the Liftboat Cameron has enabled us to enter into a contract with Marine Industrial Fabrication of New Iberia, La., to build a new, state-of-the-art, class 200 liftboat," said Vanessa Pierce, general manager of Offshore Liftboats. "The ability to build this new vessel will sustain jobs for our company."
As of the end of FY 2012, Ex-Im Bank’s credit exposure in Nigeria exceeded $178.7
