"Texas" - just off Portsea taken on 31 Dec 2015
www.superyachttimes.com/yacht-news/the-45m-superyacht-tex...
This article from "The Age" dated 2003
Solomon Lew's Texas still making waves
July 29 2003
By Christopher Webb
Strictly Private
Eight months after an arrest warrant was issued for "the ship Texas", the fight between the owner of the vessel associated with Solomon Lew and a New Zealand boat builder has not been settled.
The Texas - a 45-metre "yacht", more aptly described as an extravaganza - was arrested last November.
It was released a matter of days later following consent orders signed by the lawyers acting for the boat builder and refitter, Sensation Yachts, and interests associated with Paymetal Ltd, the London-registered vessel owner.
But while anyone with a powerful set of field binoculars standing on a hillside in the Portofino area might succeed in spotting Lew on deck entertaining his mates, the battle back home continues.
At this stage the two sides are limbering up, with regular document exchanges between Abbott, Stillman & Wilson acting for Sensation Yachts and Schetzer Brott & Appel for Paymetal.
At this rate it might not be too much longer before the matter actually makes it in a Federal Court room for a hearing that presumably will feature one Solomon Lew, and maybe his wife, in the witness box.
Basically Sensation Yacht's case is that it was retained by Lew to refurbish and extend the Texas in late 1999 on a cost plus profit basis.
It was no ordinary refit: it is claimed that 366,463 man hours were spent on readying the vessel to the standard required by one of the richest men in the country.
The amount of work increased substantially and the exercise brings to mind that old line that if you have to ask the cost of owning a yacht you have no business owning one.
The monthly invoices for the Texas refit were paid each month from October 1999 to June last year, and the monthly amount was rarely below $400,000 and sometimes was as much as $750,000.
By the end of June last year, close to $14 million had been poured into the vessel.
But according to Sensation Yachts, that is not the end of the story.
The latest writ lodged by the New Zealand company reckons that the vessel and its owner Paymetal owe some $4.6 million as well as interest and damages.
It reckons the Texas was berthed at the Viaduct basin in Auckland while final work was being done on the ship.
It says that without any prior request or notification to the boat builder's management, the ship was taken from its dock "some time during August 29, 2002" with the ship's captain and crew. It subsequently arrived in Melbourne.
In its claim, Sensation Yachts named Solomon Lew as one of the people instructing the boat builder while Mrs Lew was also mentioned as having "directed alterations and additions to the work to be performed".
The defence, filed with the court, and over the names of Leslie Glick and Andrew Laird, denied a string of allegations contained in Sensation Yacht's statement of claim; although one thing that everyone agreed on was that Paymetal forked out $13.7 million.
Paymetal also cross-claimed against Sensation Yachts.
The claim alleged 20 defects, including all manner of complaints ranging from cracking and rotting teak decks to defective air-conditioning units.
Sol also wasn't happy with the auto blinds in the owner's suite.
The total of the claimed defects came to nearly $900,000.
Sensation Yachts denied that its workmanship and materials were not of first-class quality.
It added that it was never notified of the alleged defects in accordance with an earlier agreement, and that by the end of August the work requested by Paymetal was largely completed.
It claimed that Paymetal wrongfully took possession of the ship and "sailed her from Auckland".
"As a result of the removal, Sensation was precluded from completing work on the ship, including any required rectification work," it stated.
Sensation said it was not bound by the original completion date - May 31, 2000 - because the scope of the work had been widened.
Sensation went on to deny a string of Paymetal's claims.
The matter will return to court next month.
Less fat on the Symex cash cow
Followers of the Alan Stockdale-chaired Symex Holdings would have noticed that the scrip has been creeping higher.
For those who don't follow the stock, this is a tallow outfit that didn't perform as expected and its scrip got hammered from $2.14 all the way down to 68Centsymb.
But it is on the move: obviously some punters have looked into their crystal ball and expect a solid result for the year just completed.
One person who is undoubtedly a close follower is one Allister Tomkins, a one-time Symex director who resigned in February.
As well as being Symex's marketing and sales man, Tomkins's other claim to fame was his sale of 2 million Symex shares at $2.06 apiece back in November, 2001.
But he hung on to quite a swag of scrip - close to 6 million or thereabouts - but now he has been peeling a few off.
Just the other day he flogged 970,216 shares for $1,030,000, which, a whisk of the slide rule tells us, equates to $1.06.
Not quite as satisfactory as $2.06 but somewhat better than 68. Yesterday Symex scrip closed at $1.14, up 2.
"Texas" - just off Portsea taken on 31 Dec 2015
www.superyachttimes.com/yacht-news/the-45m-superyacht-tex...
This article from "The Age" dated 2003
Solomon Lew's Texas still making waves
July 29 2003
By Christopher Webb
Strictly Private
Eight months after an arrest warrant was issued for "the ship Texas", the fight between the owner of the vessel associated with Solomon Lew and a New Zealand boat builder has not been settled.
The Texas - a 45-metre "yacht", more aptly described as an extravaganza - was arrested last November.
It was released a matter of days later following consent orders signed by the lawyers acting for the boat builder and refitter, Sensation Yachts, and interests associated with Paymetal Ltd, the London-registered vessel owner.
But while anyone with a powerful set of field binoculars standing on a hillside in the Portofino area might succeed in spotting Lew on deck entertaining his mates, the battle back home continues.
At this stage the two sides are limbering up, with regular document exchanges between Abbott, Stillman & Wilson acting for Sensation Yachts and Schetzer Brott & Appel for Paymetal.
At this rate it might not be too much longer before the matter actually makes it in a Federal Court room for a hearing that presumably will feature one Solomon Lew, and maybe his wife, in the witness box.
Basically Sensation Yacht's case is that it was retained by Lew to refurbish and extend the Texas in late 1999 on a cost plus profit basis.
It was no ordinary refit: it is claimed that 366,463 man hours were spent on readying the vessel to the standard required by one of the richest men in the country.
The amount of work increased substantially and the exercise brings to mind that old line that if you have to ask the cost of owning a yacht you have no business owning one.
The monthly invoices for the Texas refit were paid each month from October 1999 to June last year, and the monthly amount was rarely below $400,000 and sometimes was as much as $750,000.
By the end of June last year, close to $14 million had been poured into the vessel.
But according to Sensation Yachts, that is not the end of the story.
The latest writ lodged by the New Zealand company reckons that the vessel and its owner Paymetal owe some $4.6 million as well as interest and damages.
It reckons the Texas was berthed at the Viaduct basin in Auckland while final work was being done on the ship.
It says that without any prior request or notification to the boat builder's management, the ship was taken from its dock "some time during August 29, 2002" with the ship's captain and crew. It subsequently arrived in Melbourne.
In its claim, Sensation Yachts named Solomon Lew as one of the people instructing the boat builder while Mrs Lew was also mentioned as having "directed alterations and additions to the work to be performed".
The defence, filed with the court, and over the names of Leslie Glick and Andrew Laird, denied a string of allegations contained in Sensation Yacht's statement of claim; although one thing that everyone agreed on was that Paymetal forked out $13.7 million.
Paymetal also cross-claimed against Sensation Yachts.
The claim alleged 20 defects, including all manner of complaints ranging from cracking and rotting teak decks to defective air-conditioning units.
Sol also wasn't happy with the auto blinds in the owner's suite.
The total of the claimed defects came to nearly $900,000.
Sensation Yachts denied that its workmanship and materials were not of first-class quality.
It added that it was never notified of the alleged defects in accordance with an earlier agreement, and that by the end of August the work requested by Paymetal was largely completed.
It claimed that Paymetal wrongfully took possession of the ship and "sailed her from Auckland".
"As a result of the removal, Sensation was precluded from completing work on the ship, including any required rectification work," it stated.
Sensation said it was not bound by the original completion date - May 31, 2000 - because the scope of the work had been widened.
Sensation went on to deny a string of Paymetal's claims.
The matter will return to court next month.
Less fat on the Symex cash cow
Followers of the Alan Stockdale-chaired Symex Holdings would have noticed that the scrip has been creeping higher.
For those who don't follow the stock, this is a tallow outfit that didn't perform as expected and its scrip got hammered from $2.14 all the way down to 68Centsymb.
But it is on the move: obviously some punters have looked into their crystal ball and expect a solid result for the year just completed.
One person who is undoubtedly a close follower is one Allister Tomkins, a one-time Symex director who resigned in February.
As well as being Symex's marketing and sales man, Tomkins's other claim to fame was his sale of 2 million Symex shares at $2.06 apiece back in November, 2001.
But he hung on to quite a swag of scrip - close to 6 million or thereabouts - but now he has been peeling a few off.
Just the other day he flogged 970,216 shares for $1,030,000, which, a whisk of the slide rule tells us, equates to $1.06.
Not quite as satisfactory as $2.06 but somewhat better than 68. Yesterday Symex scrip closed at $1.14, up 2.