Tidewater Reports No Damage from Rita

Tidewater announced that it has not experienced any injuries to its personnel, or any damage or interruption of service to any of its vessels currently serving the oil and gas industry in the Gulf of Mexico as a result of Hurricane Rita. The Company's main operational base in Amelia, Louisiana was also unaffected except for limited power and telephone outages. The Company does not expect that there will be any material impact on its ability to respond to customer needs or to its ability to fulfill current contract commitments as a result of either Hurricanes Katrina or Rita. No international operations of the Company were affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

The Company's main headquarters in New Orleans remains inaccessible and may not be able to be occupied for the next several months as a result of the significant damage to the surrounding area from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The Company continues to operate fully under its emergency preparedness plan with Senior Company management operating from its Houston, Texas office. Other essential New Orleans-based personnel continue to work from the Company's Houston or Amelia, LA locations.

"The ability of our Company's New Orleans, Amelia, and Houston-based personnel to respond to two serious weather-related interruptions in less than a month as adroitly as they have makes us proud to be associated with them." said Tidewater's Chairman, President, and CEO, Dean Taylor. "They showed their true mettle when confronted with real adversity."

Tidewater Inc. owns and operates over 560 vessels, the world's largest fleet of vessels serving the global offshore energy industry.