Ribcraft Limited, the Yeovil company that built rigid inflatable boats for police, military and rescue crews, is in liquidation, and 18 staff have lost their jobs. Companies House lists it in a creditors' voluntary liquidation, with joint liquidators Neil Vinnicombe and Paul Wood appointed on 21 October.
What happened
Begbies Traynor, the liquidators' firm, told Marine Industry News on 6 November that the company will go through "an orderly wind down". It said the directors gave the reasons as "difficulties to generate sales revenues, an unsustainable cost base, operational inefficiencies and reluctance to commit further funds by shareholders." Eighteen employees were made redundant and two more had already resigned.
Staff were told in August. A message on 28 August from Toby Adams, the director who signed the liquidation notice, seen by Marine Industry News, said "the company is not in a position to continue trading". The BBC's West of England round-up carried the news on 7 November. Ribcraft was founded in Yeovil in 1993, and its boats patrolled the Thames during the London Olympics.
Customers who paid for boats
Some buyers paid for boats that were never finished. Fleet Bay Inshore Rescue Service told Marine Industry News it had paid £63,000, three quarters of the price, for a 5.3 metre rescue boat. Worried that the work was falling behind the payments, the trust had the hull collected in July and finished by another builder. It expects the boat on the water by Christmas.
Begbies Traynor said it will look into the company's assets, which are usually sold to repay creditors, and that details will be in its report to creditors. It cannot comment on trading before its appointment, including unfinished boats. Anyone owed money or a boat should contact the liquidators directly.
Is Ribcraft USA affected?
The liquidation covers Ribcraft Limited only. Begbies Traynor said its appointment relates to that company alone, and Marine Industry News said it had no information suggesting Ribcraft Group's overseas operations or licensed partners are insolvent. The group lists its headquarters in Abu Dhabi.
In the United States the name belongs to a separate company. Ribcraft USA LLC builds its boats in Marblehead, Massachusetts, and its website was still online this week.
The HIN code and recall record
The Coast Guard's manufacturer register has one Ribcraft entry: URK, Ribcraft USA LLC in Marblehead. The Yeovil company does not appear in it under the Ribcraft name, so the decoder can identify a Marblehead-built hull but not one built in Yeovil. The Coast Guard recall database lists no campaigns under the Ribcraft name.
If you are buying a used Ribcraft in the US, decode the HIN with the free HIN decoder to confirm it was built in Marblehead and that the model year matches the listing, then run the boat recall check. Ribcraft is not the only builder whose future changed this autumn: Beneteau is still looking for a buyer for Four Winns, Glastron and Scarab.
Check the boat, not just the listing
Type the 12-character hull number from the transom. The decoder reads the builder, build month and model year, and the recall lookup lists any US Coast Guard recall campaign on record for that manufacturer. Free, no account.
