Seacor Borrows $200M for SEA-Vista

Florida-based marine services company Seacor Holdings said that its indirect wholly-owned tanker subsidiary SEA-Vista entered into an amended and restated $200 million credit agreement, which refinanced its existing credit facilities, with a syndicate of lenders led by JPMorgan Chase.

The agreement provides for a $100 million revolving credit facility and a $100 million term loan facility, both of which mature in December 2024. The agreement allows SEA-Vista to use the borrowings for general corporate purposes, including acquisitions, and contains a $50 million accordion feature subject to lender approval.

At closing, the revolving credit facility remained undrawn, and approximately $76 million of the term loan proceeds were used to fund the repayment of SEA-Vista’s original credit facility. The SEA-Vista facilities are non-recourse to Seacor and its subsidiaries other than SEA-Vista.

SEA-Vista also announced the commencement of a 7-year bareboat charter with an oil major and the execution of a new 12-month time charter to one of the world’s largest refiners. Including these two charters, SEA-Vista’s chartered revenue backlog as of December 31, 2019 was approximately $237 million through 2026. Currently, SEA-Vista’s U.S.-flag articulated tug-barge, the Sea-Power/Sea-Chem, is the only vessel entering 2020 with exposure to the spot market.

Eric Fabrikant, Chief Operating Officer of Seacor, said, “The refinancing provides SEA-Vista with additional flexibility as it seeks strategic opportunities to grow. We appreciate the strong support shown by our lending partners, which we believe reflects confidence in SEA-Vista’s robust backlog of revenues and cash flows.”