The chairman of the threatened Ramsey Steamship Company has expressed his sadness that the historical business could face closure in its centenary year.
The 100-year-old freight, engineering and agency company faces going into liquidation due to its share of a multibillion-pound black hole in an industry-wide pension fund.
Chairman Ramsey Cringle served as a captain for the Parliament Street-based company in the 1970s, and has been a director for 26 years.
‘We’re not broke by any means, but we have a big payment to make on the pension fund,’ he said.
‘Our share is one 25th of a per cent, but the black hole is in the billions of pounds.’
The company, which employs 20 people, expects a calculated bill by the end of next month.
‘It’s approaching £1 million they’re looking for. We can just about pay it probably, but it would leave very little working capital to carry on with, so it’s not very optimistic.’
The company – which owns the Ben Varrey and Ben Maye ships, though one is now for sale – joined the Merchant Navy Officers’ Pension Fund in the 1930s.
Mr Cringle said it has served them well over the decades, but its deficit now was ‘a constant drain on resources’, with Ramsey Steamship Company having to contribute £260,000 over the last six years, and next month’s black hole bill will be a step too far. He said ship companies around the British Isles were in decline.
Mr Cringle said that they have had ‘sympathy but no solutions’ from lawyers and politicians’, but added that competing shipping companies would be likely to ‘take up the slack’ if Ramsey Steamship Company was lost.
‘It has been a lot of loss of sleep, and trying to work out ways of getting round it,’ Mr Cringle added. ‘It’s very unfortunate in our centenary year to be pulled down in this way. It’s a very proud company and it’s very upsetting for everyone involved.’
