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Commitments And Contingencies And Other Matters
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2016
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments And Contingencies And Other Matters
Commitments and Contingencies and Other Matters
 
Commitments 
 
We have charter agreements for the Grand Canyon, Grand Canyon II and Grand Canyon III vessels for use in our robotics operations. Pursuant to the charter amendments in February 2016, in connection with charter rate reductions for the vessels, the term of the vessel charters was revised such that the Grand Canyon charter expires in October 2019, the Grand Canyon II charter expires in April 2021 and the Grand Canyon III charter expires in May 2023. We also have a charter agreement for the Deep Cygnus which expires in March 2018.
 
In September 2013, we executed a contract with the same shipyard in Singapore that constructed the Q5000. This contract is for the construction of a newbuild semi-submersible well intervention vessel, the Q7000, which is being built to North Sea standards. This $346.0 million shipyard contract represents the majority of the expected costs associated with the construction of the Q7000. Pursuant to the original terms of this contract, 20% of the contract price was paid upon the signing of the contract. Pursuant to the first contract amendment we entered into in June 2015, we agreed to pay the shipyard incremental costs of up to $14.5 million to extend the scheduled delivery of the Q7000 from mid-2016 to July 30, 2017 and to defer certain payment obligations. We paid $7.3 million of these costs in July 2015 and the remaining costs were to be paid upon the delivery of the vessel. Pursuant to the second contract amendment we entered into in December 2015, the remaining 80% will be paid in three installments, with 20% in June 2016 (which will be paid in the second half of 2016), 20% upon issuance of the Completion Certificate, which is to be issued on or before December 31, 2017, and 40% upon the delivery of the vessel, which at our option can be deferred until December 30, 2018. Also pursuant to this second amendment, we agreed to reimburse the shipyard for incremental costs in connection with the further deferment of the Q7000’s delivery. Incremental costs are capitalized as they are incurred during the construction of the vessel. At June 30, 2016, our total investment in the Q7000 was $117.4 million, including the $69.2 million paid to the shipyard upon signing the contract.
 
In February 2014, we entered into agreements with Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (“Petrobras”) to provide well intervention services offshore Brazil, and in connection with the Petrobras agreements, we entered into charter agreements with Siem Offshore AS for two newbuild monohull vessels, the Siem Helix 1 and the Siem Helix 2. The initial term of the agreements with Petrobras is for four years with options to extend. As part of Petrobras’s efforts to reduce its costs structure with many of its suppliers, we had been in discussions with Petrobras since mid-2015 with respect to potentially amending our contracts in a manner that addressed Petrobras’s objectives and was acceptable to us as well. Those negotiations were finalized in early June 2016 such that the contracts for the Siem Helix 1, originally scheduled to begin no later than July 22, 2016, were amended to commence between July 22, 2016 and October 21, 2016, with the day rate reduced to a mutually acceptable level, and the contracts for the Siem Helix 2, originally scheduled to begin no later than January 21, 2017, were amended to commence between October 1, 2017 and December 31, 2017, with no change in the day rate.
 
In early April 2016, a small localized fire occurred on the Siem Helix 1 while it was being constructed for the vessel owner at the shipyard. In our estimation, the repairs to the damage caused by this fire will result in approximately a one-month delay in the vessel being in Brazil, but does not alter our estimate that the Siem Helix 1 will be in service for Petrobras in the fourth quarter of 2016. The Siem Helix 1 vessel was delivered to us and the charter term began on June 14, 2016. We are currently integrating and commissioning our topside equipment onboard the vessel. The Siem Helix 2 is under construction for the owner at the same shipyard that built the Siem Helix 1, and we anticipate that the vessel will be available for work in the second quarter of 2017 prior to commencing services for Petrobras in the fourth quarter of 2017. At June 30, 2016, our total investment in the topside equipment for the two vessels was $157.6 million. In November 2014, we paid a charter fee deposit of $12.5 million, which will be used to reduce our final charter payments for the Siem Helix 2.
 
Contingencies and Claims 
 
We believe that there are currently no contingencies which would have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
 
Litigation 
 
On July 31, 2015, a purported stockholder, Parviz Izadjoo, filed a class action lawsuit styled Parviz Izadjoo v. Owen Kratz and Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. against the Company and Mr. Kratz, our President and Chief Executive Officer, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas on behalf of a putative class of all purchasers of shares of our common stock between October 21, 2014, and July 21, 2015, inclusive (the “Class Period”). The lawsuit asserts violations of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and SEC Rule 10b-5 as to both us and Mr. Kratz, and Section 20(a) of the Exchange Act against Mr. Kratz, based on alleged misrepresentations and omissions in SEC filings and other public disclosures regarding projections for 2015 dry docks of two of our vessels working in the Gulf of Mexico that allegedly caused the price at which putative class members bought stock during the proposed class period to be artificially inflated. On January 28, 2016, the judge in the case approved a motion for the appointment of lead plaintiff and lead counsel. On March 14, 2016, the plaintiffs filed an amended class action complaint, adding Mr. Tripodo (our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer) and Mr. Chamblee (our former Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer) as individual defendants, alleging the same types of claims made in the original complaint (alleged violations during the Class Period of Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and SEC Rule 10b-5 with respect to all defendants, and Section 20(a) of the Exchange Act against the individual defendants), but asserting that the alleged misrepresentations and omissions in SEC filings and other public disclosures are related to the condition of and repairs to certain equipment aboard the Q4000 vessel. The defendants filed a motion to dismiss on April 28, 2016 and the parties have completed briefing on that motion. We believe this lawsuit to be without merit and intend to vigorously defend against it.
 
We are involved in various other legal proceedings, some involving claims for personal injury under the General Maritime Laws of the United States and the Jones Act based on alleged negligence. In addition, from time to time we incur other claims, such as contract disputes, in the normal course of business.