Sun State Marine News

Seabulk International, Inc. announced that its subsidiary, Seabulk Offshore S.A., (SOSA), which is already ISM-certified, has also successfully passed the Bureau Veritas annual audit for renewal of its certification as an ISO 9002-certified company. SOSA operates a fleet of 38 offshore energy support vessels in West Africa, South America and the Caribbean. activities in the deepwater market off the coasts of Nigeria, Angola, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Congo and Cameroon. support vessels with a fleet of 143 workboats in nearly all of the world's major offshore markets. Two other subsidiaries -- Seabulk Towing, with 31 vessels in seven southeastern U.S. American Waterways Operators' Responsible Carrier Program, an ISM Code- equivalent safety management system for the towing industry.

Seabulk International, Inc. 2001. current quarter were up 10% from $81.6 million a year ago. services business and its domestic tanker business. Revenues from Seabulk Offshore, which operates a fleet of 142 offshore energy support vessels, rose 31 percent year-over-year to $51.1 million from $39.1 million and accounted for 57 percent of total revenues. Operating income from Seabulk Offshore totaled $13.0 million, a nearly three-fold increase from $4.6 million a year ago. Utilization was 83% against 90% in the second quarter and 76% in the year-earlier quarter. quarter and 86 percent in 2000. second quarter and 85 percent a year ago. rates firmed while utilization remained steady. third quarter of 2000, when they operated an additional tanker which has since been scrapped.

Seabulk International, Inc. announced that its U.S.-based offshore energy support subsidiary, Seabulk Offshore, Ltd. (SOL), has been certified by the American Bureau of Shipping to be in compliance with the International Management Code for the Safe Operation of Ships and for Pollution Prevention (International Safety Management (ISM) Code). The Document of Compliance certification is valid for five years with an annual audit. SOL, with primary offices in Houston, Texas; Lafayette and Amelia, La., services oil and gas exploration facilities primarily in the Gulf of Mexico, operating a fleet of 60 vessels including anchor-handling tug supply vessels, supply vessels and crew boats.

Seabulk International has completed the sale of the inland barge and towboat fleet of its Sun State Marine Services, Inc. subsidiary to Colonial Towing, which is a subsidiary of Colonial Group, Inc. of Savannah, Ga. The proceeds from this sale, which amount to approximately $3.8-million will be used by Seabulk to pay down debt.

Tidewater Inc. (NYSE:TDW) announced on March 28 that William C. O'Malley, the company's Chairman, President and CEO for most of the past eight years, has officially stepped down as Tidewater's CEO, handing over the reins of leadership to Dean E. Taylor. Taylor, 53, has served as President of Tidewater since October 2001 when O'Malley, 65, announced his impending retirement at the end of March 2002. Taylor's career with Tidewater started in 1978 where he served as an assistant manager in the company's Morgan City, La. office. With his Navy background and business savvy, Taylor gradually worked his way up through Tidewater's ranks to become an executive vice president in December of 2000.

Hvide Marine Incorporated (HMI) and subsidiary Sun State Marine Services, Inc., recently christened the first in a series of new cargo ships at its U.S. shipyard facility in Green Cove Springs, Florida. Constructed entirely on-site by Sun State Marine Services, Inc., the 190-foot 'landing craft' type freight vessel is specially designed and ideally suited for conducting trade with Bahamian and Caribbean markets that have minimal or unimproved facilities. "The landing craft has a reinforced hull that allows use of unimproved landing sites such as beaches or boat ramps by actually grounding the forward part of the vessel," noted Robert J. Coppedge, vice president of Sun State Marine Services, Inc.

Every year, MarineNews chooses a handful of vessels delivered in the past 12 months and bestows upon them the distinction of “Great Boats.” The boats are chosen for innovations in design, construction and utilization. Following are the 17 vessels or groups of vessels chosen as the Great Boats of 2000. Crowley Marine Services delivered Alert, Attentive, and Aware, a series of three 140-ft., 10,000-hp Prevention and Response Tugs (PRTs), to Alyeska Pipeline Service Company in Valdez, Alaska. Specifically designed and developed for Alyeska, the boats will be used by Crowley in the Trans Alaska Pipeline System trade. Alert was deployed in February; Attentive was delivered in June, and Aware was delivered in July.

Seabulk International, Inc. has reported a net loss of $4.4 million or $0.41 per diluted share for the quarter ended June 30, 2002. In the year-earlier period, the company had net income of $2.7 million or $0.25 per diluted share. Revenues of $81.6 million in the current quarter were down 11 percent from $91.4 million a year ago, due primarily to reduced demand and lower day rates for the company's offshore vessels in the important Gulf of Mexico market. Operating income of $8.5 million was down from $18.9 million earned in the second quarter of 2001. The Company also announced that it would revise both its first quarter 2002 and its…