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Contingencies and Commitments | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2014
Contingencies and Commitments [Abstract] |
Contingencies and Commitments | (13) Contingencies and Commitments In June 2011, the Company as well as three other companies received correspondence from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) concerning ongoing cleanup and restoration activities under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (“CERCLA”) with respect to a Superfund site, the Gulfco Marine Maintenance Site (“Gulfco”), located in Freeport, Texas. In prior years, various subsidiaries of the Company utilized a successor to Gulfco to perform tank barge cleaning services, sand blasting and repair on certain Company vessels. The EPA continues to investigate activities at the site to assess additional Potentially Responsible Parties (“PRPs”). Since 2005, four named PRPs have participated in the investigation, cleanup and restoration of the site under an administrative order from EPA. Information received to date indicates that approximately $4,500,000 has been incurred in connection with the cleanup effort in addition to EPA’s oversight costs of approximately $1,800,000. To date, neither the EPA nor the named PRPs have performed an allocation of potential liability in connection with the site. The named PRPs filed suit against the Company and approximately 21 other defendants seeking contribution and indemnity under CERCLA for costs incurred in connection with its activities in cleaning up the Gulfco Site. This matter is in initial stages of litigation. In 2009, the Company was named a PRP in addition to a group of approximately 250 named PRPs under CERCLA with respect to a Superfund site, the Portland Harbor Superfund site (“Portland Harbor”) in Portland, Oregon. The site was declared a Superfund site in December 2000 as a result of historical heavily industrialized use due to manufacturing, shipbuilding, petroleum storage and distribution, metals salvaging, and electrical power generation activities which led to contamination of Portland Harbor, an urban and industrial reach of the lower Willamette River located immediately downstream of downtown Portland. The Company’s involvement arises from four spills at the site after it was declared a Superfund site, as a result of predecessor entities’ actions in the area. To date, there is no information suggesting the extent of the costs or damages to be claimed from the 250 notified PRPs. Based on the nature of the involvement at the Portland Harbor site, the Company believes its potential contribution is de minimis; however, to date neither the EPA nor the named PRPs have performed an allocation of potential liability in connection with the site nor have they provided costs and expenses in connection with the site. In 2000, the Company and a group of approximately 45 other companies were notified that they are PRPs under CERCLA with respect to a Superfund site, the Palmer Barge Line Superfund Site (“Palmer”), located in Port Arthur, Texas. In prior years, Palmer had provided tank barge cleaning services to various subsidiaries of the Company. The Company and three other PRPs entered into an agreement with the EPA to perform a remedial investigation and feasibility study and, subsequently, a limited remediation was performed and is now complete. During the 2007 third quarter, five new PRPs entered into an agreement with the EPA related to the Palmer site. In July 2008, the EPA sent a letter to approximately 30 PRPs for the Palmer site, including the Company, indicating that it intends to pursue recovery of $2,949,000 of costs it incurred in relation to the site. The Company and the other PRPs submitted recommended pro rata allocations of costs among all PRPs to the EPA and the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) in order to resolve the EPA’s past costs claim which is under consideration by the DOJ. With respect to the above sites, the Company has recorded reserves, if applicable, for its estimated potential liability for its portion of the EPA’s past costs claim based on information developed to date including various factors such as the Company’s liability in proportion to other responsible parties and the extent to which such costs are recoverable from third parties. On July 25, 2011, a subsidiary of the Company was named as a defendant in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas - Galveston Division, in a complaint styled Figgs. v. Kirby Inland Marine, LP(“Kirby Inland Marine”), et al., which alleges that the plaintiff individually as a vessel tankerman, and on behalf of other current and former similarly situated vessel tankermen employed with the Company, is entitled to overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Plaintiffs assert that vessel tankermen are not seamen who are expressly exempt from overtime pay provisions under the law. The case was conditionally certified as a collective action on December 22, 2011 at which time the Court prescribed a notice period for current and former employees to voluntarily participate as plaintiffs. The notice period closed on February 27, 2012. Plaintiffs seek compensatory damages in the form of back pay, attorneys’ fees, cost and liquidated damages. In a recent case that presented substantially the same facts and legal issues, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that vessel tankermen are seamen who are exempt from the overtime pay provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. While the Figgs case is still pending, the Company believes that, after the Fifth Circuit ruling, it will incur no material liability in the case. On March 22, 2014, a tank barge and towboat (the M/V Miss Susan), both owned by Kirby Inland Marine, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, were involved in a collision with the M/S Summer Wind on the Houston Ship Channel near Texas City, Texas. The tank barge was damaged in the collision resulting in a discharge of intermediate fuel oil from one of its cargo tanks. The USCG and the National Transportation Safety Board have named the Company and the Captain of the M/V Miss Susan, as well as the owner and the pilot of the M/S Summer Wind, as parties of interest in their investigation as to the cause of the incident. Sea Galaxy Ltd is the owner of the M/S Summer Wind. The Company is participating in the natural resource damage assessment and restoration process with federal and state government natural resource trustees. The Company and the owner of the M/S Summer Wind have filed actions in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas seeking exoneration from or limitation of liability relating to the foregoing incident as provided for in the federal rules of procedure for maritime claims. The two actions have been consolidated for procedural purposes since they both arise out of the same occurrence. There is a separate process for making a claim under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (“OPA”). The Company is processing claims properly presented, documented and recoverable under OPA. The Company is named as a party in other lawsuits filed in connection with this incident which are currently stayed by orders entered into by the court in the limitation proceedings, some of which may also have been presented as claims in the limitation proceeding. The actions include allegation of business interruption, loss of profit, loss of use of natural resources and seek unspecified economic and compensatory damages. In addition, the Company has received claims from numerous parties claiming property damage and various economic damages. The Company has also been named as a defendant in a civil action by two crewmembers of the M/V Miss Susan, alleging damages under the general maritime law and the Jones Act. The litigation and claims process is ongoing and many of the claims and lawsuits filed have not specified the amount of damages sought, but the Company believes it has adequate insurance coverage for pollution, marine and other potential liabilities arising from the incident. The Company believes it has accrued adequate reserves for the incident and does not expect the incident to have a material adverse effect on its business or financial condition. In addition, the Company is involved in various legal and other proceedings which are incidental to the conduct of its business, none of which in the opinion of management will have a material effect on the Company’s financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. Management believes that it has recorded adequate reserves and believes that it has adequate insurance coverage or has meritorious defenses for these other claims and contingencies. Certain Significant Risks and Uncertainties. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with United States generally accepted accounting principles requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. However, in the opinion of management, the amounts would be immaterial. The customer base of the marine transportation segment includes the major industrial petrochemical and chemical manufacturers, refining companies and agricultural chemical manufacturers operating in the United States. During 2014, approximately 80% of marine transportation’s inland revenues were from movements of such products under term contracts, typically ranging from one year to five years, with renewal options. During 2014, approximately 85% of the marine transportation’s coastal revenues were under term contracts. While the manufacturing and refining companies have generally been customers of the Company for numerous years (some as long as 40 years) and management anticipates a continuing relationship, there is no assurance that any individual contract will be renewed. No single customer of the marine transportation segment accounted for 10% of the Company’s revenues in 2014, 2013 and 2012. Major customers of the diesel engine services segment include inland and offshore barge operators, oilfield service companies, oil and gas operators and producers, compression companies, offshore fishing companies, marine and on-highway transportation companies, the USCG and United States Navy, and power generation, nuclear and industrial companies. The segment operates as an authorized distributor in 17 eastern states and the Caribbean, and as non-exclusive authorized service centers for Electro-Motive Diesel, Inc. (“EMD”) throughout the rest of the United States for marine and power generation applications. The diesel engine services segment’s relationship with EMD has been maintained for 49 years. The segment also operates factory-authorized full service marine dealerships for Cummins, Detroit Diesel and John Deere high-speed diesel engines and Allison transmissions and gears in the Gulf Coast region, as well as an authorized marine dealer for Caterpillar in Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana and New Jersey. United has maintained continuous exclusive distribution rights for MTU and Allison since 1946. United is one of MTU’s top five distributors of MTU off-highway engines in North America with exclusive distribution rights in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi. In addition, as a distributor of Allison transmission products, United has distribution rights in Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana. Finally, United is also the exclusive distributor for Daimler engines and related equipment in Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana. The results of the diesel engine services segment are largely tied to the industries it serves and, therefore, can be influenced by the cycles of such industries. No single customer of the diesel engine services segment accounted for 10% of the Company’s revenues in 2014, 2013 and 2012. Weather can be a major factor in the day-to-day operations of the marine transportation segment. Adverse weather conditions, such as high or low water, tropical storms, hurricanes, tsunamis, fog and ice, can impair the operating efficiencies of the marine fleet. Shipments of products can be delayed or postponed by weather conditions, which are totally beyond the control of the Company. Adverse water conditions are also factors which impair the efficiency of the fleet and can result in delays, diversions and limitations on night passages, and dictate horsepower requirements and size of tows. Additionally, much of the inland waterway system is controlled by a series of locks and dams designed to provide flood control, maintain pool levels of water in certain areas of the country and facilitate navigation on the inland river system. Maintenance and operation of the navigable inland waterway infrastructure is a government function handled by the Army Corps of Engineers with costs shared by industry. Significant changes in governmental policies or appropriations with respect to maintenance and operation of the infrastructure could adversely affect the Company. The Company’s marine transportation segment is subject to regulation by the USCG, federal laws, state laws and certain international conventions, as well as numerous environmental regulations. The Company believes that additional safety, environmental and occupational health regulations may be imposed on the marine industry. There can be no assurance that any such new regulations or requirements, or any discharge of pollutants by the Company, will not have an adverse effect on the Company. The Company’s marine transportation segment competes principally in markets subject to the Jones Act, a federal cabotage law that restricts domestic marine transportation in the United States to vessels built and registered in the United States, and manned and owned by United States citizens. The Jones Act cabotage provisions occasionally come under attack by interests seeking to facilitate foreign flag competition in trades reserved for domestic companies and vessels under the Jones Act. The Company believes that continued efforts will be made to modify or eliminate the cabotage provisions of the Jones Act. If such efforts are successful, certain elements could have an adverse effect on the Company. The Company has issued guaranties or obtained standby letters of credit and performance bonds supporting performance by the Company and its subsidiaries of contractual or contingent legal obligations of the Company and its subsidiaries incurred in the ordinary course of business. The aggregate notional value of these instruments is $36,566,000 at December 31, 2014, including $7,433,000 in letters of credit and $29,133,000 in performance bonds. All of these instruments have an expiration date within four years. The Company does not believe demand for payment under these instruments is likely and expects no material cash outlays to occur in connection with these instruments.

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