Tidewater News

On Yonges Island, South Carolina, just up the Wadmalaw River from Charleston, the fourth-generation maritime company Stevens Towing Company continues to rewrite its own history. Long known for its towing and barge work, its ship repair business is growing at light speed, transforming what began decades ago as an internal maintenance yard into a dynamic commercial shipyard serving tugs, barges, OSVs, and dredge vessels from Florida to Virginia. At the center of this evolution is Kurt Olsen…

As oil exploration and production goes, so goes the market for Offshore Service Vessels (OSVs) and Platform Supply Vessels (PSVs). Throughout 2025, the prices of oil- which drives exploration and production (E & P), have softened, moving down towards $60/barrel amidst economic uncertainty and a wider than anticipated opening of the taps by major oil producers. In the past year, the Baker Hughes overall count of U.S. rigs working has declined. September 2025’s U.S. Rig count of…

Digital Dry-Docking: Tidewater Sees 60% Time Savings Using UniSea’s Maindeck AppTidewater is redefining how vessel dry-dockings are managed, estimating up to a 60% reduction in project time after deploying UniSea’s Maindeck digital platform during the recent yard stay of the Highland Prestige at Dales Marine Services in Aberdeen.According to Chris Tundogan, Assistant Operations Superintendent at Tidewater, the Maindeck app has “revolutionized” the way dry-docking projects are planned and executed…

Tidewater has appointed Coulston (Cole) Van Gundy Vice President of Shipyard and Terminal Operations.Van Gundy brings more than 19 years of maritime industry experience to Tidewater. He joins from Crowley, where he most recently served as Vice President of Engineering, leading the engineering services group responsible for civil and marine design, engineering, and construction management for internal and external clients.Over his career, Van Gundy has overseen the delivery of more than 20 vessels and assets, including tugs, tankers, barges, fireboats, and research vessels.

Scotland’s largest maritime decarbonization project is now live at the Port of Aberdeen, providing green shore power for vessels at eight berths in the port’s North Harbour.The concept of shore power is simple: allowing vessels to plug directly into power from the port’s renewable energy tariff, instead of running on their own fossil fuel auxiliary engines while at berth, saving on fuel and cutting CO2 emissions, pollution, and noise.For Port of Aberdeen, a Trust Port at the heart of the community with ambitions to be the UK’s first port to achieve net zero by 2040…

A fatal incident has occurred aboard one of the vessels of Tidewater, a subcontractor of Equinor, resulting in the death of a crew member.The incident took place on Polaris platform supply vessel (PSV) on June 2, 2025, while the vessel was on the Atlantic Ocean engaged in normal operations. Emergency response procedures were immediately initiated, and despite the efforts of the crew and emergency response agencies, the crew member tragically passed away.Tidewater is fully cooperating with the United States Coast Guard in the ongoing investigation to determine the cause of the incident.

GLO Marine and VMS Group Denmark have secured a multi-vessel retrofit work for offshore support vessel operator Tidewater, expanding their role in the offshore energy sector.Covering 16 vessels across three continents, including several in U.S. waters, the retrofit program marks an important step in both companies’ strategy to provide fleet-scale retrofit solutions to the international offshore vessels market.The companies are executing a full-scope BWTS retrofit and lifecycle project management plan for Tidewater.To date…

Tidewater Transportation and Terminals has finalized a contract with Gunderson Marine and Iron, a Portland, Oregon-based shipyard, for the construction of four new liquid refined product barges.The barges will measure 272 feet long, 42 feet wide, and 18 feet 6 inches deep, with a capacity of 20,000 barrels.Designed and constructed for service on the Columbia Snake River System, these inland liquid tank barges will be certified by the United States Coast Guard and comply with OPA…

Tidewater has announced that its net income for the 12 months ended December 31, 2024 was $180.7 million, compared to $97.2 million for the previous year.The company’s revenue for the three and 12 months ended December 31, 2024 of $345.1 million and $1,345.8 million respectively, compared with $302.7 million and $1,010.0 million, respectively, for the previous year.Quintin Kneen, Tidewater’s President and Chief Executive Officer, said: “2024 proved to be a successful year by all measures.

Tidewater has appointed Chris Mack as the company's new Vice President of Marine Operations.Mack brings over two decades of industry experience to the Tidewater team.He earned his Bachelor's degree in Maritime Transportation from the California Maritime Academy and received his Master of Marine Transportation and Engineering Management from California State University Maritime Academy in 2023. He began his maritime career as an Able Seaman, progressing to the role of Captain within the Ocean Towing Fleet.

Five of Canada’s largest energy-focused industry associations have formed a joint working group to support the push against the threat of a 25% tariff on all Canadian goods from the incoming U.S. President, Donald Trump.The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP), Pathways Alliance, Enserva, the Explorers and Producers Association of Canada (EPAC), and the Canadian Association of Energy Contractors (CAOEC) are working together to support cross-Canada efforts to prevent…

The OSV sector has concluded its second quarter earnings season, marking another quarter with strong profitability and favorable market conditions. However, negative oil market sentiment, with the Brent price down by 19% since the start of July, has impacted the overall oil services market with the wider PHLX Oil Service Index trading down 4% year-to-date. The OSV sector has returned 5% year-to-date at the time of writing, led by DOF’s 57% performance.Image courtesy Fearnley SecuritiesDayrates Continued to RiseTidewater was the first out of the blocks this earnings season…

Tidewater announces the retirement of President and CEO Todd Busch, effective June 30, and current COO Johan Sperling will step into the role of President & CEO on July 1."Todd's leadership has been nothing short of remarkable," said Johan Sperling. "His vision and dedication have set a strong foundation for Tidewater's future. I am honored to have the opportunity to build on his legacy and lead Tidewater into its next chapter."Busch will remain an advisor to Tidewater and will join the board of directors.

U.S.-based Patriot Maritime announced it has appointed Mark Handin as president, replacing Lance Bardo who will retire at the end of June.Handin joins Patriot after a 27+ year career in various management, executive and corporate officer roles within Tidewater Marine and the A.P. Moller-Maersk group.Handin will hold overall responsibility for the performance of the companies’ owned and managed vessels under Patriot Contract Services. LLC., and its American Ship Management, LLC subsidiary.

Tidewater, a provider of marine transportation and terminal services on the Columbia Snake River System, revealed plans to invest in up to four new refined liquid products barges.The Vancouver, Wash. based company said its board of directors has approved the barge design and is progressing toward the construction phase. The new barges will replace older, less efficient assets, enhancing fleet safety, efficiency and environmental stewardship, Tidewater said."Our investment in these…

Bollinger Shipyards announced it has promoted Andrew “Andy” Naquin to lead its sales team as the company's new Vice President of Sales.“Since joining Bollinger, Andy has been an invaluable addition to our team,” said Ben Bordelon, President and CEO of Bollinger Shipyards. “His deep experience and breadth of relationships in the maritime industry are second to none, and I know he’ll continue to deliver our customers the highest level of quality service and solutions that Bollinger has been known for nearly eight decades.”Naquin first joined Bollinger in 2023 as Director of Sales.

An offshore wind industry is growing in the U.S. with an aim to meet the Biden Administration’s goal of 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind by 2030, and eventually 110 GW by 2050.But as is the case for any new industry that is building up, there are going to be bumps along the way. The U.S. offshore wind industry is currently grappling with rising costs amid unprecedented supply chain issues and inflation, among other issues.One of the main challenges unique to offshore wind is a shortage of vessels.

Tidewater Inc., the world's largest fleet operator in the offshore support vessel (OSV) industry, has signed a Global Value Agreement (GVA) with engine manufacturer Caterpillar to ensure comprehensive parts, service, monitoring and maintenance support to help reduce total cost of ownership (TCO) and increase uptime and availability.Tidewater’s fleet of more than 200 OSVs, including platform supply vessels (PSV), anchor handler towing supply vessels (AHTS), offshore tugs and crew boats…

Port of Aberdeen said Thursday it had been awarded funding from the UK Government for a multi-million-pound project to design and deliver the first large-scale landside and vessel-side shore power system in Scotland."The demonstrator project will cut vessel emissions at the berths by more than 80% compared with burning marine fuel and save in excess of 60,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent over the next 20 years," Port of Aberdeen said.Crucially, the port said, ‘Shore Power in Operation’ will pave the way for the roll-out of green shore power across North Harbour.

The offshore supply vessel industry has weathered a tumultuous decade characterized by a prolonged trough that tested the resilience of vessel owners. However, the tides have turned, and the industry is now experiencing a strong and much-awaited revival.The offshore supply vessel industry has weathered a tumultuous decade characterized by a prolonged trough that tested the resilience of vessel owners. However, the tides have turned, and the industry is now experiencing a strong and much-awaited revival.While long seen as a derelict industry by investors…

In 2021, Trans Mountain, on behalf of shippers for the Trans Mountain Expansion Project (TMEP), awarded KOTUG Canada Inc. a long-term contract to provide escort towage services for tankers that load crude oil at Trans Mountain’s Westridge Marine Terminal.Trans Mountain operates Canada’s only oil pipeline servicing the West Coast of Canada providing tidewater access to foreign markets for Canada’s petroleum resources.Under the agreement, KOTUG Canada, which is a partnership between KOTUG International B.V.

Norwegian offshore vessel operator Solstad Offshore has officially exited the platform supply vessel business.Namely, the company on Wednesday completed the sale of its PSV fleet to the U.S. offshore vessel firm Tidewater for approximately $580 million. The transaction, first announced in March, was completed Wednesday, with all 37 platform supply vessels, primarily used for transporting essential supplies and equipment to offshore oil and gas platforms and drilling rigs, successfully delivered to Tidewater…

Tidewater has appointed Dick H. Fagerstal non-executive Chairman of the Board.In addition, the Board has reduced the size of the Board from nine to eight members.Fagerstal stated, “I am honored to assume the role of Chairman of the Board of Tidewater at such an exciting time for our industry. I believe the company is well positioned to capitalize on the increasing global offshore activity with recently closed (and pending) additions to its fleet of offshore vessels.“Having been…