Tidewater Announces The Release of Hostages

Tidewater Inc. confirmed that the four workers who were abducted by armed force and taken hostage from its offshore supply vessel Liberty Service offshore the Niger Delta on January 11, 2006, were released safe and well in the early morning hours of January 30, 2006. Three of the hostages were employees of Tidewater Crewing Limited, a Tidewater subsidiary. They were Captain Patrick Landry, 61 years of age, and a citizen of the United States; Harry Ebanks, 54 years of age, and a citizen of Honduras; and Milko Yordanor Nitchev, 56 years of age, and a citizen of Bulgaria. The fourth hostage was Nigel Watson-Clark, a citizen of the United Kingdom and an employee of Ecodrill. Both Tidewater and Ecodrill were working for Shell Nigeria at the time of the attack. All of the workers will undergo medical examinations before repatriation to their homes and families. Tidewater has worked closely with Shell Nigeria, Ecodrill, the U.S. and U.K. governments, and the Nigerian authorities to bring about the successful release of the hostages.