The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has started an investigation into beleaguered shipbuilder Wavemaster International, which has been in financial turmoil for some months.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has started an investigation into beleaguered shipbuilder Wavemaster International, which has been in financial turmoil for some months.
The ASIC move, which involves officials removing documents from the company’s Henderson head-quarters, comes amid revelations that employees – including Wavemaster’s boss in Western Australia – are owed up to eight weeks’ wages.
Wavemaster general manager Malcolm Swaddle, who is among those with wages owing, confirmed ASIC investigators had visited the shipbuilder and taken documents.
Mr Swaddle said ASIC had been dealing directly with Wavemaster’s Malaysian-based board to determine whether the Western Australian shipbuilder still had the financial backing of its parent, Penang Shipbuilding and Construction Sdn Bhd.
He said Wavemaster had been given until November 1 to show that it had that financial support but was not aware of the outcome of those discussions.
The company has some works in progress and recently sold a 30-metre ferry, but there were significant doubts about the firm’s ability to continue construction.
However, Mr Swaddle said he had constantly been reassured that Wavemaster’s owners did not want the company put into liquidation.
Mr Swaddle referred all other enquiries to Wavemaster chairman Noordin bin Abdullah in Kuala Lumpur.
Mr bin Abdullah refused to comment, in turn referring enquiries to Roger Fernandes, a partner in the company’s Melbourne-based lawyers, FCG Legal Pty Ltd.
WA Business News was unable to contact Mr Fernandes.
ASIC regional director Angus Dale-Jones would neither confirm nor deny whether the commission was investigating Wavemaster.
Australian Manufacturing Workers Union secretary Jock Ferguson said he had real concerns about the workers’ entitlements.
“The workers are pretty wound up about the whole thing,” he said.
“Some of them have been there for 20 years. This is like Eagle Aircraft all over again.”
Eagle Aircraft Australia Limited was another Malaysian owned, WA-based business that found itself in financial difficulties.
In Eagle’s case, its Malaysian parents closed its Henderson production facility and eventually relocated it to Malaysia in 2002.
Wavemaster has been under pressure from its creditors for some time.
It had started to secure some new work and had found a buyer for a 30-metre ferry a previous buyer had defaulted on, which had been thought to be at the heart of the company’s troubles.
However, it is still likely to be some time before the money from the ferry sale will flow through.
Wavemaster also won a $6 million contract to build a ferry for Danish company Chistiansoefarten, and another similar sized contract was in the offing.
Mr Swaddle said the keel for the Danish vessel had been laid, however financial difficulties were holding up the payments for the job.
There are also concerns about whether Wavemaster would have enough staff left to be able to complete that job.
In July the shipbuilder had about 100 staff.
Mr Ferguson said only about 30 staff remained in the Wavemaster yard.
Mr Swaddle said the company would be able to muster about 80 staff, enough to continue work on the Danish ferry, if the funds became available.
