Document:

<PAGE>
                                                                   Exhibit 10.51

                                 FIRST AMENDMENT
                                       TO
                                 LOAN AGREEMENT

1. Parties and Date. This First Amendment to the Loan Agreement (the
"Amendment") is entered into as of April 8th, 2004 by and among Torch Offshore,
Inc., a Delaware corporation, Torch Offshore, L.L.C., a Delaware limited
liability company, Torch Express, L.L.C., a Louisiana limited liability company
(all and each of them referred to herein as "Borrower") and General Electric
Capital Corporation, a Delaware corporation ("Lender"). Capitalized terms used
herein and not otherwise defined shall have the meanings assigned to them in the
Agreement described below.

2. Facts.

      2.1 Loan. Borrower and Lender entered into a Loan Agreement dated December
17, 2003 (the "Agreement") and Borrower has requested and Lender has agreed that
the Agreement be amended on the terms and conditions set forth in this
Agreement.

      2.2 Line of Credit. Borrower are parties to that certain Credit Agreement,
as amended by the First Amendment to Credit Agreement effective as of April 23,
2003, as amended through the date hereof and as hereafter amended ("Existing
Credit Agreement"), with Regions Bank ("Agent") and Regions Bank and Export
Development Canada (collectively, the "Line of Credit Lenders").

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      2.3 Waiver. The Line of Credit Lenders have waived compliance by Borrower
with the minimum Consolidated Current Ratio and Consolidated Debt Service
Coverage Ratio covenants of the Existing Credit Agreement for the fiscal quarter
ending December 31, 2003.

3. Amendment to the Agreement. Borrower and Lender hereby agree to amend Section
8 of the Agreement by deleting it in its entirety and replacing therefor the
following:

      3.1 "8 FINANCIAL COVENANTS: (a) Borrower, at all times during the term of
the Agreement, shall be in compliance with the financial covenants set forth in
that certain Loan Agreement dated March 21, 2003, as amended from time to time
(the "March 2003 Agreement"), by and among General Electric Capital Corporation,
Torch Offshore, L.L.C. and Torch Offshore, Inc., each determined in accordance
with GAAP and measured on a quarterly basis;

      (b) Borrower will have and maintain, as of the end of each fiscal quarter,
beginning on March 31, 2005:

      (1)   minimum EBITDA of $18,500,000.00;

      (2)   minimum Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio of 1.05:1.00; and

      (3)   maximum Leverage Ratio as follows:

            Quarterly Test Period                       Ratio
            ---------------------                       -----
            3/31/05-12/31/05                            5.25:1.00
            3/31/06-12/31/06                            4.75:1.00
            3/31/07-12/31/07                            4.25:1.00
            3/31/08-12/31/08                            3.75:1.00
            3/31/09 and thereafter                      3.25:1.00;

      (c) for purposes of this Section, the following definitions shall apply:

      (1)   "Capitalized Lease Obligations" of any Person shall mean, as of the
            date of any determination thereof, the amount at which the aggregate
            rental obligations due and to become due under all Capitalized
            Leases under which such person is a lessee would be reflected as a
            liability on a balance sheet of such Person as determined in
            accordance with GAAP.

      (2)   "Capitalized Lease" shall mean any lease of Property, whether real
            and/or personal, by a Person as lessee which as determined in
            accordance with GAAP is required to be capitalized on the balance
            sheet of such person.

      (3)   "Distribution" in respect of any Person shall mean (a) dividends or
            other distributions of cash, stock assets or other property on or in
            respect of any shares of stock, membership interest or other equity
            interest in such person; and (b) the redemption, repurchase or other
            acquisition of any shares of stock, membership interest or other
            equity interest in such person or of any warrants, rights or other
            options to purchase any stock, membership interest or other equity
            interest (except when solely in exchange for such stock, membership
            interest or other equity interest); provided that, the issuance of
            or granting of warrants, rights or other options to purchase stock
            of Borrower shall not be considered a Distribution.

      (4)   The term "EBITDA" shall mean the consolidated Net Income plus the
            amount reflected in the financial statements of the Borrower as
            expenses incurred for interest, income taxes, state

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            franchise taxes, depreciation, amortization of any intangible
            assets, amortization of financing or related fees, and non-cash
            charges.

      (5)   The term "GAAP" shall mean generally accepted accounting principles
            at the time in the United States of America.

      (6)   The term "Indebtedness" shall mean, with respect to any Person,
            without duplication, all indebtedness, liabilities and obligations
            of such Person, but in any event including, without limitation, all
            (i) obligations of such Person for borrowed money or for the
            deferred purchase price of Property or services (including, without
            limitation, all notes payable and all obligations evidenced by
            bonds, debentures, notes or other similar instruments), (ii)
            obligations secured by any lien on, or payable out of the proceeds
            of production from, any Property or assets owned by such Person,
            whether or not such Person has assumed or become liable for the
            payment of such obligations, (iii) indebtedness, liabilities and
            obligations of third parties, including joint ventures and
            partnerships of which such Person is a venturer or general partner,
            recourse to which may be had against such Person, (iv) obligations
            created or arising under any conditional sale or other title
            retention agreement with respect to Property acquired by such
            Person, notwithstanding the fact that the rights and remedies of the
            seller, lender or lessor under such agreement in the event of
            default are limited to repossession or sale of such Property, (v)
            Capitalized Lease Obligations of such Person, (vi) all accounts
            payables of such Person, (vii) all indebtedness, liabilities and
            obligations of such Person under guarantees, and (viii) all
            obligations of such Person, contingent or otherwise, relative to the
            face amount of letters of credit (as may be reduced pursuant to
            their terms), whether or not drawn.

      (7)   The term "Net Income" shall mean, for the period in question, the
            after-tax net income or loss of Borrower as reflected in the
            financial statements of the Borrower for the relevant period, but
            excluding in any event the following to the extent included in the
            computation of net income on such financial statements: (i) any
            gains or losses resulting from any reappraisal, revaluation or
            write-up or write-down of assets; (ii) any equity of Borrower in the
            undistributed earnings of any corporation which is not a Subsidiary
            and is accounted for on the equity method; (iii) gains or losses
            from the acquisition or disposition of investments; (iv) gains from
            the retirement or extinguishment of any Indebtedness; (v) gains on
            collections from insurance policies or settlements (net of premiums
            paid or other expenses incurred with respect to such gains during
            the fiscal period in which the gain occurs, to the extent such
            premiums or other expenses are not already reflected in Net Income
            for such period); (vi) any gains or losses during such period from
            any change in accounting principles, from any discontinued
            operations or the disposition thereof or from any prior period
            adjustments; and (vii) any extraordinary gains or losses; all
            determined on a consolidated basis in accordance with GAAP.

      (8)   The term "Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio" shall mean the ratio of (a)
            EBITDA minus (i) capital expenditures for maintenance of equipment
            and facilities and (ii) dry docking costs incurred in the ordinary
            course of business, to (b) Fixed Charges.

      (9)   The term "Fixed Charges" shall mean Scheduled Principal Payments
            plus (a) interest, income taxes, state franchise taxes, paid in
            cash, and (b) cash Distributions.

      (10)  The term "Leverage Ratio" shall mean the ratio of Indebtedness to
            EBITDA.

      (11)  The term "Person" shall mean any individual, sole proprietorship,
            partnership, joint venture, trust, unincorporated organization,
            association, corporation, limited liability company,

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            institution, entity or government (whether national, federal, state,
            county, city, municipal or otherwise, including, without limitation,
            any instrumentality, division, agency, body or department thereof).

      (12)  The term "Property" shall mean any interest in any kind of property
            or asset, whether real, personal or mixed, or tangible or
            intangible. "Properties" shall mean the plural of Property.

      (13)  The term "Scheduled Principal Payments" shall mean, for the period
            in question, without duplication, all scheduled principal payments
            of Borrower on Indebtedness for the applicable period, all
            determined on a consolidated basis as determined in accordance with
            GAAP; provided that any balloon principal payment on Indebtedness of
            Borrower which is extended to a maturity date beyond the applicable
            period shall not be included in the calculation of Scheduled
            Principal Payments.

      (14)  The term "Subsidiary" shall mean (a) any corporation of which more
            than fifty percent (50%) of the issued and outstanding capital stock
            entitled to vote for the election of directors is at the time owned
            directly or indirectly by Borrower and/or any one or more
            Subsidiaries, or (b) any partnership, limited liability company,
            business trust, or any other similar entity of which more than fifty
            percent (50%) of the voting interests is at the time owned directly
            or indirectly by Borrower and/or any one or more Subsidiaries, and
            specifically including, but not limited to, Torch Offshore, L.L.C.,
            a Delaware limited liability company, Torch Express, L.L.C., a
            Louisiana limited liability company, and Torch Deepwater, Inc., a
            Louisiana corporation.

      Borrower covenants and agrees that, so long as any portion of the Loan
remains outstanding Borrower will deliver to Lender simultaneously with the
delivery of each set of financial statements of Borrower referred to above, a
certificate of Borrower's Chief Financial Officer in substantially the form of
Exhibit "B" hereto, accompanied by supporting financial worksheets where
appropriate, (A) evidencing Borrower's compliance with the financial covenants
contained in this Section 8 as calculated on a consolidated basis for Borrower
and its Subsidiaries, and (B) stating whether there exists on the date of such
certificate any Event of Default, and if an Event of Default then exists,
setting forth the details thereof and the action which Borrower is taking or
proposes to take with respect thereto.

In the event of any conflict between the terms and provisions set forth in this
Section 8 and the terms and provisions set forth in the March 2003 Agreement,"
the terms and provisions of this Section 8 shall prevail.

4. Acknowledgments, Ratifications and Reaffirmations. Borrower hereby
acknowledges, ratifies and reaffirms that (i) as of the date of this Amendment,
the outstanding principal balance of the Indebtedness is Fourteen Million Four
Hundred Sixty-four Thousand Two Hundred Eighty-five and 71/100 Dollars
($14,464,285.71), (ii) all of the representations and warranties set forth in
the Debt Documents are true and correct in all respects and shall be deemed to
have been made again by Borrower as of the date hereof, (iii) no Event of
Default or other event or circumstance which, with the passage of time or the
giving of notice, or both, would constitute an Event of Default, has occurred or
exists, (iv) Borrower has no defense, offset or counterclaim to any of
Borrower's obligations under any of the Debt Documents, (v) Lender has and shall
at all times continue to have a valid and continuing first priority lien on and
security interest in all of the Collateral, and (vi) the Agreement (as hereby
amended) and the other Debt Documents are in full force and effect and are fully
enforceable against Borrower in accordance with their respective terms.

5. Fee. In consideration for Lender entering into this Amendment, Borrower shall
promptly pay to Lender the amount of Seventy Two Thousand, Three Hundred and
Twenty One and 00/100 Dollars ($72,321.00). Lender's receipt of the foregoing
payment shall be a condition precedent that must be satisfied before this
Amendment shall become binding in any way on Lender.

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6. Effectiveness of Debt Documents. Except as expressly amended by this
Amendment, all terms of the Agreement, as well as the Note and all of the other
Debt Documents, shall remain in full force and effect. To the extent any terms
and conditions in any of the Debt Documents shall contradict or be in conflict
with any terms or conditions of the amended Debt Documents, after giving effect
to this Amendment, such terms and conditions are hereby deemed modified and
amended hereby. In connection herewith, Borrower shall execute such amendments
to the other Debt Documents or re-execute such of the other Debt Documents as
Lender shall request.

7. No Waiver of Remedies. Except as specifically provided herein, Lender
expressly reserves any and all rights and remedies at any time available to it
in connection with the Loan, whether arising under the Note, the Agreement
and/or any of the other Debt Documents, at law, in equity or otherwise. No
failure to exercise, or delay by Lender in exercising, any right, remedy, power
or privilege under or in connection with the Note, the Agreement and/or any of
the other Debt Documents shall preclude any other or further exercise thereof,
or the exercise of any other right, remedy, power or privilege at any time, and
all such rights, remedies, powers and privileges shall be cumulative and not
exclusive of one another.

8. Entire Agreement. The parties acknowledge and agree that there are no other
agreements or representations, either oral or written, express or implied, in
connection with the Indebtedness that are not embodied in this Amendment, the
Agreement and the other Debt Documents, which, together represent a complete
integration of all prior and contemporaneous agreements and understandings of
Borrower and Lender in any way related to the Indebtedness. The Agreement (as
hereby amended) may not be altered, modified or terminated in any manner except
by a writing duly executed by Borrower and Lender.

9. Binding on Successors. Borrower shall not assign any of its rights, duties or
obligations under the Note, the Agreement (as amended by this Amendment) or any
of the other Debt Documents and any purported such assignment shall be void.
Lender may transfer or assign the Note or the Indebtedness (as defined in the
Agreement) and the other Debt Documents, either together or separately, in
accordance with the Agreement. Without in any way limiting the foregoing, the
Note, the Agreement (as amended by this Amendment) and other Debt Documents
shall be binding upon the successors and legal representatives of Borrower.

10. Construction. The parties acknowledge and agree that each of them and their
respective counsel have reviewed and contributed substantively and materially to
the content of this Amendment and, as a result, this Amendment, and any
ambiguities it might contain, shall not be construed more strictly against or in
favor of either party on the basis that this Amendment, or any provision herein,
was drafted by one or the other party.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, Borrower and Lender have each executed this Amendment as of
the day and year first above written.

                                    LENDER

                                    GENERAL ELECTRIC CAPITAL CORPORATION
                                    By:
                                       -----------------------------------------
                                    Name:
                                         ---------------------------------------
                                    Title:
                                          --------------------------------------

                                    BORROWER

                                    TORCH OFFSHORE, INC.
                                    By:
                                       -----------------------------------------
                                    Name:
                                         ---------------------------------------
                                    Title:
                                          --------------------------------------

                                    TORCH OFFSHORE, L.L.C.
                                    By:
                                       -----------------------------------------
                                    Name:
                                         ---------------------------------------
                                    Title:
                                          --------------------------------------

                                    TORCH EXPRESS, L.L.C.
                                    By:
                                       -----------------------------------------
                                    Name:
                                         ---------------------------------------
                                    Title:
                                          --------------------------------------

                                       5<PAGE>

                                                                   Exhibit 10.52

                        SEVENTH AMENDING AGREEMENT TO THE
                               CONVERSION CONTRACT
                             DATED DECEMBER 3, 2002
                              (As amended to date)
                                     between

                              DAVIE MARITIME, INC.

                                   as Builder

                                       and

                              TORCH EXPRESS L.L.C.

                                    as Owner

                                  April 7, 2004

            This SEVENTH AMENDING AGREEMENT is made and entered into the 7th day
of April 2004, by and between DAVIE MARITIME, INC., a company organized and
existing under the laws of Canada whose registered office address is 22 George
D. Davie Rd., Levis, Quebec G6V 8V5 in the city and judicial district of Quebec,
Province of Quebec, represented by Mr. Richard Bertrand, duly authorized to act
hereunder, as he so states (the "Builder"), and TORCH EXPRESS L.L.C., a company
organized and existing under the laws of Louisiana whose registered office
address is 401 Whitney Ave., Gretna, LA 700056 USA. (the "Owner"),

WHEREAS:

A.          Builder and Owner entered into a Conversion Contract (the "Original
            Contract") dated as of December 3, 2002 providing for the conversion
            of the Midnight Express into an offshore multi-service cargo vessel
            in accordance with a Specification and other Contractual Documents;

B.          The Original Contract was subsequently amended by six Amending
            Agreements, the Original Contract as so amended being herein called
            the "Amended Contract";

C.          Unless otherwise specified, capitalized terms and expressions used
            in this Amending Agreement have the same meaning as those ascribed
            to them by the Amended Contract and references to $ and Dollars are
            to United States dollars unless specified otherwise;

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D.          Pursuant to the Amended Contract, Builder was obligated to
            re-deliver the converted Ship on December 26, 2003 for a Contract
            Price and otherwise on the terms and conditions contained in the
            Amended Contract;

E.          Builder did not re-deliver the converted Ship on December 26, 2003
            and Owner took the position that, as a consequence of such
            non-redelivery, Owner was entitled to Liquidated Damages of
            approximately $4.3 million;

F.          On December 8, 2003, Builder delivered to Owner a preliminary
            Request for Equitable Adjustment (the "REA") in which Builder
            claimed as of December 8th, 2003: (a) additional compensation in the
            amount of $14.1 million, and (b) postponement of the Contractual
            Re-Delivery Date until April 24, 2004, which claims were rejected by
            Owner;

G.          On or about February 11, 2004, Builder advised Owner that as a
            result of new pending Change Order Requests, the value of Builder's
            claim as expressed in the REA would be increased and a further
            postponement of the Contractual Re-Delivery would be requested;

H.          Builder has advised Owner that Re-Delivery of the converted Ship in
            accordance with the requirements of the Amended Contract can be
            accomplished by May 21, 2004, provided Owner is prepared to make
            available certain funds by way of an increase to the Contract Price
            and;

I.          Owner is prepared to make such funds available on the terms and
            conditions contained in this Amending Agreement.

WITNESSETH that the parties have agreed as follows:

1.          BUILDER REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES

            Builder represents and warrants to Owner, it being acknowledged by
Builder that Owner is relying on such representations and warranties to induce
it to enter into this Amending Agreement:

      (a)   that Builder, based on the information known to Builder at the time
            of this Amending Agreement, has or will have available to it
            sufficient working capital which, when aggregated with the amounts
            payable by Owner, will be sufficient to fund the completion of the
            Work and the Re-Delivery of the Ship not later than the Amended
            Re-Delivery Date;

      (b)   Builder is not aware of the existence of any facts or circumstances
            that, as at the date hereof, could give rise to a Change Order
            Request or any claim, whether at law or in equity, that could result
            in Owner being requested to pay any amount as part of the Contract
            Price other than the balance set out in Exhibit A, together with any
            amounts that may be payable with respect to the Outstanding Change
            Order Requests listed in Exhibit B;

      (c)   Builder is not aware of Change Order Requests other than Change
            Order Request No. 247 listed in Exhibit B bearing status "In
            preparation" that could form the basis of a claim for Permissible
            Delay which may have the result of extending the Re-Delivery Date
            after May 21, 2004; and

      (d)   of the instalment of $3,600,000 paid on March 5, approximately
            Cdn.$3,200,000 was applied to the payment of amounts owning and
            payable to suppliers and subcontractors and being 100% of amounts
            owing and payable to suppliers and subcontractors on the said date.

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2.          OWNER REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES

            Owner represents and warrants to Builder, it being acknowledged by
Owner that Builder is relying on such representations and warranties to induce
it to enter this Amending Agreement; that Owner has made necessary arrangements
with and obtained assurances from its lenders to be in a position to make
payments to Builder in accordance with Exhibit C;

3.          CONTRACT PRICE AND CONTRACTUAL RE-DELIVERY DATE

      (a)   Owner and Builder agree that as of the date hereof, after assessment
            of all Builder's pending claims and Change Order Requests, save and
            except for any amount that may become payable pursuant to the
            Outstanding Change Order Requests listed in Exhibit B, the Contract
            Price payable to Builder is to be increased by $9,350,000 (hereafter
            referred to as "Increase in Contract Price") and consequently, save
            and except for any amount that may become payable pursuant to the
            Outstanding Change Order Requests listed in Exhibit B, the Contract
            Price is $51,962,591 as reconciled in Exhibit A.

      (b)   Owner and Builder agree that, as of the date hereof, after
            assessment of all Builder's claims and Change Order Requests, save
            and except for Change Order Request No. 247 listed in Exhibit B
            bearing status "In preparation" the Contractual Re-Delivery Date is
            extended to May 21st, 2004 (the "Amended Re-Delivery Date"), which
            date includes all periods of Permissible Delay;

      (c)   Builder acknowledges having received from Owner at the date hereof,
            the following amounts totalling $5,689,534 as instalments on payment
            of the Increase of Contract Price;

      (i)   $1,000,000 on January 29, 2004;

      (ii)  $489,534 on February 18, 2004;

      (iii) $3,600,000 on March 4, 2004;

      (iv)  $600,000 on April 5, 2004

      (d)   The balance of the Contract Price will be payable in accordance with
            Exhibit C attached, it being understood and agreed that Builder
            shall deliver to Owner as a condition of making all such payments a
            "no-lien" certificate in the form prescribed and required by
            paragraph 2 of the Fifth Amending Agreement forming part of the
            Amended Contract.

4.          RENUNCIATION AND RELEASE

      (a)   In consideration of Owner's agreement to pay the Increase of
            Contract Price and in consideration of Owner's agreement to amend
            the Contractual Re-Delivery Date as provided in paragraph 3(b)
            hereabove, Builder hereby accepts such increase of Contract Price as
            payment in full of all of Builder's claims (for increases in
            Contract Price and/or postponement of Contractual Re-Delivery Date
            and all Change Order Request impacts) which exist as of the date of
            execution of the present Amending Agreement save and except for the
            Outstanding Change Order Requests listed in Exhibit B and further
            agrees that, except for the Outstanding Change Order Requests listed
            in Exhibit B, it has at the time of entering the present Amending
            Agreement, no other claims against Owner and is not aware of any
            basis on which it would be entitled to make any such claim.

      (b)   In consideration of Builder's agreement to accept the Increase of
            Contract Price as full and final compensation for Builder's
            unsettled claims which exist as of the date of execution of the
            present Amending Agreement (save and except for Outstanding Change
            Order Requests listed in Exhibit B),

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            Owner acknowledges and agrees that it may become entitled to
            Liquidated Damages only in the event that Re-Delivery occurs after
            the Amended Re-Delivery Date and that Builder will benefit from the
            seven-day grace period as provided in the Amended Contract prior to
            any Liquidated Damages application.

5.          NO LIEN CLAUSE

      (a)   Builder agrees that neither Builder nor any person acting through or
            on behalf of Builder shall claim or assert any lien or encumbrance
            against the Ship or its equipment or appurtenances (including any
            items not on board the Ship which were acquired with the intent of
            being incorporated in the Ship as part of the Work) at any time,
            whether before or after completion of the Work or Re-Delivery,
            provided however that:

      (i)   Owner shall have paid the balance of the Contract Price set out in
            Exhibit A, together with all amounts payable in respect of Change
            Order Requests approved in writing by Owner and Builder after the
            date hereof;

      (ii)  Owner shall have signed the Re-Delivery Acceptance Certificate.

      (b)   In the event that a Change Order Request, including an Outstanding
            Change Order Request, has not been accepted by Builder and Owner on
            or before the date on which Re-Delivery would otherwise occur,
            Re-Delivery shall not be delayed by reason of any dispute as to the
            value of the Change Order. Any such dispute shall be resolved after
            Re-Delivery in accordance with Section 20 of the Amended Contract;

      (c)   Neither Builder nor any person acting through or on behalf of
            Builder will interfere with Re-Delivery of the Ship in accordance
            with Section 10 of the Amended Contract, if Owner shall have, (i)
            signed the Re-Delivery Acceptance Certificate and (ii) at the time
            of Re-Delivery, paid the undisputed unpaid balance of the Contract
            Price to Builder and deposited the unpaid disputed amount of the
            Contract Price in to an escrow account in accordance with Article
            10.10 (b), as amended by this Amending Agreement, including all
            amounts payable in respect of Change Order Requests approved in
            writing by Owner and Builder after the date hereof. Provided that
            such payment has been made, any dispute between Builder and Owner
            shall be resolved after Re-Delivery in accordance with Section 20 of
            the Amended Contract and Owner will not be required to post any
            security in respect of any amount which is in dispute.

6.          RESPONSIBILITY FOR NOMINATED SUBCONTRACTORS' CLAIMS

            Owner will indemnify and save Builder harmless from and against any
            claims by Nominated Subcontractor for additional compensation or
            damages other than claims (a) resulting from wrongful acts or
            omissions of Builder, (b) the non payment of Nominated Subcontractor
            Invoices unless such invoices are being legitimately disputed by
            Builder or (c) resulting from Builder having contracted, without
            prior written approval of Owner, the performance of services or
            supply of materials by Nominated Subcontractors outside of the scope
            of work specified in the Nominated Subcontracts.

7.          OTHER AMENDMENTS

      (a)   Article 2.5 found in the Amended Contract is hereby amended by
            adding at the end thereof the following:

            "In the event that any Certificate issued at the time of Re-Delivery
            by the Classification Society or any other regulatory authority in
            respect of the Ship is provisional or qualified by virtue of the
            fact that it will not be possible to perform final stability or
            inclining tests or any other final test until installation and
            commissioning of OFE Equipment has been completed, or if any such
            Certificate is

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            affected by a qualification pertaining to the performance of the
            work covered by any Nominated Subcontract or a condition of the
            Unconverted Ship, Builder shall have no obligation to do any work
            required to obtain the issue of an unqualified Certificate or
            Certificates except to provide all required engineering input in
            relation to the stability testing of the converted Ship."

      (b)   Article 10.9 of the Amended Contract is hereby amended to read as
            follows:

            "If:

      (a)   within seven (7) days of receipt by Builder of Owner's written
            notice under Article 10.7 Owner and Builder are unable to agree that
            Owner's reason for refusing to issue a signed Re-Delivery Acceptance
            Certificate constitutes a Conversion Deficiency and/or a Condition
            Deficiency as specified in such notice, or

      (b)   Owner refuses to issue a signed Re-Delivery Acceptance Certificate
            in respect of any purported Remedial Work carried out by Builder,

            Owner shall pay Builder the undisputed amount of the Contract Price
            remaining outstanding and the dispute shall be referred to
            arbitration as provided in Article 20.2.";

      (c)   Article 10.10 (b) of the Amended Contract is hereby amended to read
            as follows:

            Where the operational capacity of the Ship is not impaired, after
            giving prior written notice to Guarantor, after signing the
            Re-Delivery Acceptance Certificate and after depositing in escrow
            the balance of Contract Price, take repossession of the Ship, in
            which case (i) the amount of Liquidated Damages, if any, would stop
            accruing from the date of a repossession of the Ship and the risk of
            loss and/or damage to the Ship shall automatically pass to Owner,
            and (ii) Owner shall have the right to carry out the Remedial Work
            and, if the outcome of the arbitration favours Owner, offset its
            costs from the amount placed in the escrow account.

8.          CONTRACT CONFIRMATION

            Except as otherwise provided by this Amending Agreement, the Amended
            Contract is hereby in all respects confirmed including, but not
            limited to, its provisions pertaining to Alteration and Modification
            (Article 11) and Arbitration (Article 20) all of which apply to the
            Outstanding Change Order Requests listed in Exhibit B and to any
            future Change Order Request issued by Builder or Owner in compliance
            with the provisions of Article 11 of the Amended Contract related to
            changes to the scope of Work subsequent to the date hereof.

9.          CONDITIONALITY

            This Amending Agreement shall not become the unconditional
            obligation of Builder and Owner unless and until:

      (a)   Owner's lenders have delivered a consent in the form attached as
            Exhibit D; and

      (b)   Investment Quebec has consented, in the form attached as Exhibit E,
            to the increased Contract Price as required by the provisions of
            Section 11.5 of the Amended Contract.

            IN WITNESS WHEREOF the parties have caused this Amending Agreement
to be signed by their duly authorized signatories the day, month and year first
above written.

                                         DAVIE MARITIME INC.

                                         By:  __________________________________
                                              Richard Bertrand

                                         TORCH EXPRESS L.L.C.

                                         By:  __________________________________
                                              Lyle Stockstill

                                       5
<PAGE>
                                    EXHIBIT A

                          CONTRACT PRICE RECONCILIATION

                            [SEE EXHIBIT A ATTACHED]

                                       6
<PAGE>
                                    EXHIBIT B

                              CHANGE ORDER REQUESTS

                               [SEE LIST ATTACHED]

                                       7
<PAGE>
                                    EXHIBIT C

                                    PAYMENTS

<TABLE>
<S>                                                                                        <C>
2.    For payment purposes, the Contract Price balance comprises three segments:

(a)   Balance of original Contract Price                                                   $1,952,569

(b)   Change Orders                                                                           408,126

(c)   Increase of Contract Price                                                            8,319,126

3.    The balance of the original Contract Price will be payable in accordance
      with the applicable provisions of the Amended Contract.

4.    The Change Orders amount will be payable in accordance with the applicable
      provisions of the Amended Contract.

5.    The Increase of Contract Price will be payable as follows:

      Advances (already paid)                                                              $5,689,534

      April 16 instalment                                                                  $1,129,592

      Re-Delivery Date instalment (subject to Ship being in the condition                  $1,500,000
      required by the Specification and being free of all liens and claims for
      lien except mortgage in favour of Owner's lenders)
</TABLE>

                                       8
<PAGE>
                                    EXHIBIT D

                                LENDERS' CONSENT

TO:      Torch Express L.L.C. ("Owner")
         Torch Offshore Inc. ("Torch")
         Davie Maritime, Inc. ("Builder")
         Investment Quebec ("IQ")

Reference is made to the Seventh Amending Agreement to the Conversion Contract
dated December 3, 2002 (the "Amending Agreement") and to the Consent dated as of
April ____ 2004 pursuant to the Performance Bond issued by IQ. In consideration
of Builder entering into the Amending Agreement and IQ delivering such Consent,
each of the undersigned Lenders hereby consents to the execution by Owner of the
Amending Agreement

Dated as of April 7th 2004.

                                        REGIONS BANK

                                        By:  ___________________________________

                                        EXPORT DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

                                        By:  ___________________________________

                                       9
<PAGE>
                                    EXHIBIT E

                            INVESTMENT QUEBEC CONSENT

TO:      Torch Express L.L.C. ("Owner")
         Torch Offshore Inc. ("Torch")
         Davie Maritime, Inc. ("Builder")
         Regions Bank and Export Development Corporation ("Lenders")

         Reference is made to the Seventh Amending Agreement to the Conversion
         Contract dated December 3, 2002 (the "Amending Agreement") and to the
         Consent dated as of April ____ 2004 executed by the Lenders. In
         consideration of Builder entering into the Amending Agreement and the
         Lenders executing the Consent, the undersigned hereby (a) consents to
         the increase in the Contract Price as provided in the Amending
         Agreement and as required by the provisions of Section 11.5 of the
         original Conversion Contract dated December 3, 2002, and (b) confirms
         that the Performance Bond issued by the undersigned on May 9th, 2003 is
         in full force and effect in accordance with its terms.

         Dated as of April 7th, 2004.

                                              INVESTMENT QUEBEC

                                              By:  _____________________________

                                       10

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