Tidewater to Sell Six AHTS'

Tidewater announced the pending sale of six of its KMAR 404 class of Anchor Handling Towing Supply vessels to Deep Sea Supply ASA for a total cash price of $188 million. All conditions precedent to close, including the receipt by Tidewater of a non-refundable 10% deposit and the deposit by the purchaser of the balance of the purchase price into an escrow account, have been completed and the transaction is expected to close shortly. The culmination of this transaction will result in an approximate $65.9 million pre-tax financial gain, or approximately $42.8 million after tax, or $.74 per common share. The transaction will result in an approximate $112 million taxable gain, but no cash taxes will be due because of the availability of net operating loss carryforwards. The sales agreement also provides the Company an opportunity, for an extended period of time, to operate the six vessels on behalf of the new owners for a fixed fee per vessel per day. The Company expects to use a portion of the proceeds of the sale to repay $95 million of borrowings currently outstanding under the Company's revolving credit agreement.

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