SEACOR Holdings Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in domestic and international transportation and logistics, risk management consultancy and other businesses.
Segments
The company operates through Ocean Transportation & Logistics Services (Ocean Services), Inland Transportation & Logistics Services (Inland Services), Witt O’Brien’s, LLC (Witt O’Brien’s), and Other.
Ocean Services segment
This segment owns and operates a fleet of bulk transportation, port and infrastructure, and logist...
SEACOR Holdings Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in domestic and international transportation and logistics, risk management consultancy and other businesses.
Segments
The company operates through Ocean Transportation & Logistics Services (Ocean Services), Inland Transportation & Logistics Services (Inland Services), Witt O’Brien’s, LLC (Witt O’Brien’s), and Other.
Ocean Services segment
This segment owns and operates a fleet of bulk transportation, port and infrastructure, and logistics assets, including U.S. coastwise eligible vessels and vessels trading internationally. This segment owns and operates the U.S.-flag petroleum and chemical carriers servicing the U.S. coastwise crude oil, petroleum products and chemical trades. This segment’s dry bulk vessels operate in the U.S. coastwise trade. This segment’s port and infrastructure services includes assisting deep-sea vessels docking in U.S. Gulf and East Coast ports, providing ocean towing services between U.S. ports and providing oil terminal support and bunkering operations in St. Eustatius and the Bahamas. This segment’s logistics assets and services include U.S.-flag Pure Car/Truck Carriers (PCTCs) operating globally under the U.S. Maritime Security Program and liner, short-sea, rail car and project cargo transportation and logistics solutions to and from ports in the Southeastern United States, the Caribbean (including Puerto Rico), the Bahamas and Mexico as well as ‘door-to-door’ solutions for certain customers. This segment also provides technical ship management services for third-party vessel owners.
Bulk Transportation Services
Petroleum and Chemical Transportation: In the U.S. coastwise petroleum and chemical transportation trade, this segment’s oceangoing vessels transport crude oil, petroleum products and chemicals primarily from production areas, refineries and storage facilities along the coast of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico to refineries, utilities, waterfront industrial facilities and distribution facilities along the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and the U.S. Atlantic and Pacific coasts. This segment operates a fleet of owned and leased-in U.S.-flag petroleum and chemical carriers servicing this trade.
Dry Bulk Transportation: In the U.S. coastwise dry bulk trade, Ocean Services’ U.S.-flag bulk carriers transport Agremax, coal, petroleum coke, finished fertilizer, phosphate rock and other bulk commodities within the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, U.S. East Coast ports and Puerto Rico.
Port & Infrastructure Services
Harbor tugs operate alongside oceangoing vessels to escort them to their berth, assist in docking and undocking, and escort them back out to sea. As of December 31, 2020, this segment’s 24 U.S.-flag harbor tugs were operating in various ports including three in Port Canaveral, Florida, three in Port Everglades, Florida, one in the Port of Miami, Florida, four in Port Tampa, Florida, three in the Port of Mobile, Alabama, three in the Port of Lake Charles, Louisiana and seven in Port Arthur, Texas. Offshore towing activities include the long haul towing of ocean barges, dead ships and other large floating equipment requiring auxiliary power.
This segment also provides bunkering (fueling) services to ships operating in the Caribbean Sea, more specifically in St. Eustatius and vessels calling in the Bahamas. Bunkering activities include one tug and one ocean liquid tank barge mooring alongside a docked or anchored vessel and transferring fuel. Ocean Services leases out four foreign-flag harbor tugs and five U.S.-flag ocean liquid tank barges to a bunkering operator in St. Eustatius and operates four foreign-flag harbor tugs and one ocean liquid tank barge in Freeport, Grand Bahama supporting terminal and bunkering operations through its 50% noncontrolling interest in Kotug Seabulk Maritime LLC (KSM).
Logistics Services
In the logistics services business, Pure Car/Truck Carriers (PCTCs), RORO barges, deck barges, small RORO and container vessels and specialized rail ferries provide unit freight and general cargo transportation services. These services include receiving and transporting full container loads and less-container-load cargo for transporting in shipping containers, rail cars, out-of-gauge project cargoes, automobiles and U.S. military vehicles. PCTCs handle cargo moving to and from the United States and international destinations, including Europe, the Middle East and Western Pacific ports (including ports in Guam, Japan and South Korea). Short-sea container/RORO vessels are engaged in services to and from ports in the Southeastern United States, the Caribbean (including Puerto Rico), the Bahamas and Mexico. RORO and deck barges are operated in the Puerto Rico liner trade through Ocean Services’ 55% noncontrolling interest in Trailer Bridge, Inc. (Trailer Bridge). The rail ferries operate between Alabama and Mexico through Ocean Services’ 50% noncontrolling interest in Golfo de Mexico Rail Ferry Holdings LLC (Golfo de Mexico).
Managed Services
This segment provides crew and technical ship management services to third party ship owners and certain of its 50% or less owned companies. As of December 31, 2020, this segment provided management services for ten vessels, including one U.S.-flag petroleum carrier, two U.S.-flag heavy lift vessels, two foreign-flag rail ferries, four foreign-flag harbor tugs and one foreign-flag ocean liquid tank barge.
Customers and Contractual Arrangements
Bulk Transportation Services: The primary customers for petroleum and chemical transportation services are multinational oil companies, refining companies, major gasoline retailers, oil trading companies and large industrial consumers or producers of crude, petroleum and chemicals. Services are contracted on the basis of short-term or long-term time charters, bareboat charters, voyage charters and contracts of affreightment or other transportation agreements tailored to the shipper's requirements. The primary customers for dry bulk transportation services are regional power utilities requiring waterborne coal, petroleum coke and residual ash transportation and large fertilizer producers moving Florida sourced products into the lower Mississippi River. Dry bulk services are contracted under multi-year contracts of affreightment and voyage charters.
Port and Infrastructure Services: The primary customers for port and infrastructure services are vessel owners and charterers, which are industrial companies, trading houses and shipping companies and commercial shipping pools. Services are contracted using prevailing port tariff terms on a per-use basis or on the basis of short-term or long-term time charters or bareboat charters.
Logistics Services: The primary customers for PCTC logistics services are major, integrated automobile shippers and in certain circumstances automobile manufacturers or auto dealerships directly, and the U.S. Government. Services to these customers are contracted on the basis of short-term or long-term time charter or on a liner basis. Services for the U.S. Government are generally contracted on a voyage charter or liner basis in accordance with a master services agreement. The primary customers for unit freight logistics services are individuals and businesses shipping consumer, industrial and energy goods and personal parcels between ports in the Southeastern United States, the Caribbean (including Puerto Rico), the Bahamas and Mexico. Unit freight services are contracted on a per unit basis for the specified cargo and destination.
Managed Services: This segment provides crew and technical ship management services to third-party ship owners and certain of its 50% or less owned companies.
In 2020, one customer of Ocean Services (U.S. Federal Government) accounted for 10% of the company's consolidated operating revenues.
Inland Services segment
This segment provides customer supply chain solutions with its domestic river transportation equipment, fleeting services and high-speed multi-modal terminal locations adjacent to and along the U.S. Inland Waterways, primarily in the St. Louis, Memphis and Baton Rouge areas. Inland Services operates under the SCF name. SCF’s barges are primarily used for moving agricultural and industrial commodities and containers on the U.S. Inland Waterways, including the Mississippi River, Illinois River, Tennessee River, Ohio River and their tributaries and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterways. Internationally, this segment owns inland river liquid tank barges that operate on the Magdalena River in Colombia. These barges primarily transport petroleum products with the ability to move agricultural and industrial commodities and containers. This segment also has a 50% noncontrolling interest in dry-cargo barge operations on the Parana-Paraguay Waterway in Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay primarily transporting agricultural and industrial commodities, a 63% noncontrolling interest in towboat operations on the U.S. Inland Waterways and a 50% noncontrolling interest in grain terminals/elevators in the Midwest and/or along the U.S. Inland Waterways.
Bulk Transportation Services
Inland river barges are unmanned and are moved by towboats. The combination of a towboat and barges is commonly referred to as a ‘tow’.
Inland Services’ dry-cargo barge fleet consists of hopper barges, which are covered for the transport of products, such as grain and grain by-products, fertilizer, steel and frac sand or ‘open tops’ primarily used for the transport of commodities that are not sensitive to water, such as coal, aggregate scrap and containers. Each dry-cargo barge in the Inland Services’ fleet is capable of transporting approximately 1,500 to 2,200 tons (1,350 to 2,000 metric tons) of cargo depending on water depth (draft), river conditions and hull depth of the barge. Adverse river conditions, such as high water resulting from excessive rainfall or low water caused by drought, could impact operations by limiting the speed at which tows travel, the number of barges included in tows and the quantity of cargo that is loaded in the barges. This segment’s fleet of inland river liquid tank barges transports primarily petroleum products on long-term voyage affreightment contracts on the Magdalena River in Colombia.
This segment’s 50% or less owned companies that provide bulk transportation services include SCF Bunge Marine LLC, which operates towboats on the U.S. Inland Waterways; and SCFCo Holdings LLC (SCFCo), which transports various agricultural and industrial commodities on the Parana-Paraguay Waterway in Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay.
Port & Infrastructure Services
Terminals: This segment owns and operates high speed multi-modal terminal facilities located along the Mississippi River in the St. Louis harbor providing loading and unloading, transshipment, warehousing and drayage services. These terminals handle grain, grain by-products, fertilizer, steel, ethanol and other products for a multitude of customers. In addition, this segment owns a 50% noncontrolling interest in grain terminals/elevators in the Midwest and/or along the U.S. Inland Waterways.
This segment operates these terminals by first unloading product that arrives by railcar or truck. The product is then loaded onto dry-cargo barges along with similar products. This process might also operate in reverse, with Inland Services unloading dry-cargo barges into trucks or railcars. A typical 15 dry-cargo barge tow, assuming no loading restrictions as a result of river conditions, could hold the equivalent of approximately 1,050 trucks or 216 railcars. A tow might consist of 15-40 barges and could take from hours to days to load and assemble.
Fleeting: This segment owns and/or operates a series of fleeting locations and harbor boats from Davenport, Iowa through Memphis, Tennessee. This segment’s fleeting services include fleeting barges, port services, minor repairs, barge cleaning and line haul boat assists. Fleeting locations are locations where barges might be parked prior to being loaded, unloaded, cleaned, repaired or stored until needed for future use. Fleeting locations are in close proximity to terminals. Fleeting services include disassembling a tow by moving dry-cargo barges into the fleet, moving barges from the fleet to a terminal for loading or unloading, cleaning and repairing barges, if needed, and then reassembling the barges into a tow for future operations.
Logistics Services
SEACOR America’s Marine Highway (AMH): This segment uses dry-cargo barges to move containers on the Mississippi River from Memphis, Tennessee to New Orleans, Louisiana. On this route, AMH transports empty containers in dry-cargo barges from Memphis to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The containers are then trucked (drayed) to customers in Baton Rouge for loading. Loaded containers are then transported in dry-cargo barges from Baton Rouge to New Orleans, primarily for export. AMH also provides drayage services in Freeport, Texas for resin customers. Logistics services also provides local intermodal and maintenance services to its customers.
Managed Services
This segment provides management services related to barge and towboat operations.
Markets
This segment operates equipment in three principal geographic regions.
U.S. Inland Waterways: This segment transports various commodities on the U.S. Inland Waterways in dry-cargo barges, primarily grain and grain by-products, fertilizer, steel products, containers and other dry bulk commodities. Grain cargoes primarily move south and originate in the major grain producing areas of the U.S. Industrial cargoes, such as steel products, including steel coils, fertilizer and general cargo move north. This segment attempts to coordinate the logistical match-up of northbound and southbound movements of cargo to minimize repositioning costs and optimize barge usage. In addition to its barge and towboat activities, this segment owns and operates high-speed multi-modal terminal facilities for both dry and liquid commodities and barge fleeting locations in various areas of the Inland Waterway System.
Magdalena River: This segment primarily transports petroleum products outbound from central Colombia to the Caribbean Sea for export or distribution.
Parana-Paraguay Waterway: This segment, through its 50% noncontrolling interest in SCFCo, transports various commodities on the Parana-Paraguay Waterway in dry-cargo barges, primarily grains, iron ore, and other bulk commodities. In addition to its primary barge and towboat business, SCFCo controls a transshipment terminal at the Port of Ibicuy, Argentina.
Customers and Contractual Arrangements
Bulk Transportation Services: The primary customers for bulk transportation services are major grain exporters, farm cooperatives, importers and distributors of industrial materials, fertilizer companies, trading companies, oil companies and industrial companies. This segment’s pooled dry-cargo barges are employed on a voyage basis at agreed rates for tons moved and with users having specified days for loading and discharging the cargo. In the trade, this is referred to as a contract of affreightment. If the user exceeds the specified number of days for loading and discharging the barges, the user pays demurrage (revenue to compensate for using the assets longer than allowed by contract). For longer term contracts of affreightment, base rates might be adjusted in response to changes in fuel prices and other operating expenses. Some term contracts provide for the transport of a minimum number of tons of cargo or specific transportation requirements for a particular customer.
Port and Infrastructure Services: The primary customers for port and infrastructure services are similar to those of bulk transportation services. This segment’s multi-modal terminals are marketed under contractual rates and terms driven by throughput volume. This segment’s fleeting operations charge a day rate for holding barges in fleeting areas. Harbor boats pick up and drop off barges and assist in assembling tows that are moving up and down the river on line haul towboats. The service is provided for an agreed upon hourly charge. The harbor boats also perform shifting services, which include moving barges to and from the dock for loading and unloading. This segment’s fleeting operations also include cleaning, minor repairs to barges and line haul boat assists. This segment’s machine shop and shipyard repairs and upgrades towboats, repairs barges and other equipment and provides fabrication and dock repairs, which are charged either on an hourly basis or a fixed fee basis depending on the scope and nature of work.
Logistics Services: The primary customers for logistics services are shippers of raw materials, bulk and finished products. Over-the-road shipping costs, pollution and congestion of roadways are reduced by consolidating multiple containers onto a single barge for shipment. This segment also provides local drayage services. This segment’s logistics services are primarily marketed under contracted rates.
Managed Services: The primary customers for managed services are typically third-party asset owners.
Seasonality
The volume of grain transported from the major grain producing areas of the U.S. for export through the U.S. Gulf of Mexico is greatest during the period from mid-August through March. This period is particularly significant to this segment because pricing for hauling freight tends to peak during these months in response to higher demand for transportation services. The severity of winter weather could also impact operations and contribute to volatility in revenues and expenses. Harsh winters force the upper Mississippi River to close and restrict barge traffic from mid-December to mid-March. Ice could also hinder the navigation of barge traffic on the mid-Mississippi River, the Illinois River, and the upper reaches of the Ohio River. Significant closures could negatively affect Inland Services' utilization, and therefore its results of operations.
The Magdalena River basin has two rainy and two dry seasons annually. The lowest river levels occur from mid-December to mid-February and could cause difficult navigational conditions within the mid and upper river regions, potentially reducing the utilization of this segment’s barges in this region during that period.
On the Parana-Paraguay Waterway, water levels are lower during December and January and could make navigation difficult on the northern portion of the river. During this time period, barge traffic primarily focuses on transporting grains from Paraguay to Argentina.
Witt O’Brien’s segment
This segment provides crisis and emergency management services for both the public and private sectors. These services strengthen clients’ resilience and assist their response to natural and man-made disasters in four core areas:
Preparedness: This includes planning, training, exercises and compliance services that enhance government and corporate disaster readiness.
Response: This includes on-site emergency management services that strengthen clients’ ability to manage a disaster, such as a pandemic (COVID-19), an oil spill, vessel incident or hurricane impact.
Recovery: This includes assisting qualifying clients to plan for, obtain and administer federal disaster recovery funds following major disasters.
Mitigation: This includes helping clients reduce the impact of future disasters on operations and communities and helping them rebuild stronger after disasters occur.
Customers and Contractual Arrangements
This segment’s primary client sectors are government, shipping, energy, manufacturing, technology and education. Services are contracted on a project basis, under retainer agreements or through ‘stand-by’ arrangements, whereby the segment is pre-contracted to support a client if a given set of circumstances arises. Services are billed on a time-and-materials basis or through retainer arrangements.
Other segment
This segment includes activities that primarily include:
CLEANCOR Energy Solutions LLC (Cleancor): Cleancor designs, develops and maintains alternative energy and power solutions for end users looking to displace legacy petroleum-based fuels and adopt energy supplies that have a favorable environmental footprint. Cleancor provides liquefied natural gas (LNG) and compressed natural gas (CNG) fuel supply and logistics to commercial, industrial, agricultural and transportation customers and provides natural gas during pipeline supply interruptions due to planned maintenance or other curtailments.
Noncontrolling Investments in Various Other Businesses: These investments primarily include sales, storage, and maintenance support for general aviation in Asia and an agricultural commodity trading and logistics business that primarily focuses on the global origination, and trading and merchandising of sugar and other commodities, pairing producers and buyers and arranging for the transportation and logistics of the product.
Government Regulation
Regulatory Matters
Ocean Transportation & Logistics Services and Inland Transportation & Logistics Services are subject to regulation under the Jones Act and related U.S. cabotage laws, which restrict ownership and operation of vessels in the U.S. coastwise trade (i.e., trade between points in the United States), including the transportation of cargo.
In addition, the company’s vessels are subject to the requirements of various international conventions that are applicable to vessels depending on their jurisdiction of registration. Among the significant of these conventions are the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as modified by the Protocol of 1978 relating thereto (MARPOL); the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974 and 1978 Protocols (SOLAS); and the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW).
All of Ocean Transportation & Logistics Services’ vessels are subject to the periodic inspection, survey, dry-docking and maintenance requirements of the United States Coast Guard (USCG) and/or the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) and other marine classification societies.
Under the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, the company’s U.S.-flagged vessels are subject to requisitioning by the U.S. Government under certain terms and conditions during a national emergency.
In addition to the USCG, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Pipeline Safety, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, and certain individual states regulate vessels (and other structures) in accordance with the requirements of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90) or under analogous state law. There is little uniformity among the regulations issued by these agencies, which increase the company’s compliance costs and risk of non-compliance.
Environmental Compliance
The company’s operations occasionally generate and require the transportation, treatment and disposal of both hazardous and non-hazardous solid wastes that are subject in the United States to the requirements of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) or comparable state, local or foreign requirements.
All of the company’s vessels that are 500 or more gross tons are required to be certified under the standards set forth in the International Safety Management Code’s (ISM Code’s) safety and pollution protocols.
History
SEACOR Holdings Inc. was founded in 1989. The company was incorporated in 1989 in Delaware.
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