Phoenix of Panama

摘要

Having built up a reputation for afloat repairs, as well as small craft repairs at a local yard in Veracruz, Panama, the MEC group was in the mood to take a big step into full yard management a fewyears ago. The company wanted to run what was the ex-Braswell Shipyard in Balboa, at the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, but the extended process presented problems. The government-owned facility was subject to public bidding, which took the Panamanian administration a year to organise, and the two bidding rounds took a further six months to complete. MEC was then awarded a 20-year contract forthe yard in June 2012, but wasn't handed the keys until February 2013. By that point the yard had fallen almost into disrepair, with no usage apart from a government-provided skeleton crew for around two years.