Tidewater Inc. provides marine and transportation services to the global offshore energy industry.
The company offered a large, diversified fleet of offshore service vessels (OSV or vessels), with 211 vessels serving customers in over 30 countries as of December 31, 2024.
The company manages its operations through five geographically aligned reporting segments: Americas, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Europe/Mediterranean, and West Africa.
The company’s vessels routinely move between geographic r...
Tidewater Inc. provides marine and transportation services to the global offshore energy industry.
The company offered a large, diversified fleet of offshore service vessels (OSV or vessels), with 211 vessels serving customers in over 30 countries as of December 31, 2024.
The company manages its operations through five geographically aligned reporting segments: Americas, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Europe/Mediterranean, and West Africa.
The company’s vessels routinely move between geographic regions as its customers complete projects, and new projects arise. The company conducts its business through domestic and international subsidiaries, as well as through joint ventures that it may or may not control (generally where required to satisfy local ownership or local content requirements).
The company’s vessels and associated services support all phases of offshore crude oil and natural gas (also referred to as oil and gas) exploration activities, field development, production, and maintenance, as well as wind farm development and maintenance. The company’s services include towing and anchor handling for mobile offshore drilling units; transporting supplies and personnel necessary to sustain drilling, workovers, production activities, field abandonment, dismantlement, and restoration activities; offshore construction, and seismic and subsea support; geotechnical survey support for wind farm construction, and a variety of other specialized services, such as pipe and cable laying.
The company’s principal customers include large, international, integrated, and independent oil and gas exploration, field development, and production companies (IOCs); mid-sized and smaller independent exploration and production (E&P) companies; foreign government-owned or government-controlled organizations that explore for, develop, and produce oil and gas (NOCs); offshore drilling contractors; and other companies that provide various services to the offshore energy industry, including, among other things, offshore construction companies, wind farm development companies, diving companies, and well stimulation companies.
Vessel Classifications
The company’s primary vessel classifications include Anchor Handling Towing Supply Vessels (AHTS) and Platform Supply Vessels (PSVs). The company also operates a small number of other specialty vessels. A description of the type of vessels categorized in each vessel class and the services typically performed follows.
Anchor Handling Towing Supply Vessels
The most versatile vessels in the Tidewater fleet are large, powerful AHTS vessels, capable of all types of towing, anchor handling activities, and varied subsea operations. Fitted with experienced crews and state-of-the-art technology, AHTS vessels of various classes are capable of positioning and mooring drilling rigs in virtually any location, depth, or sea condition and under a wide range of conditions. With a wide range of power, sizes, and capacities, these vessels are also well-suited for general offshore support services, drilling rig support functions, and cargo transport assignments.
As of December 31, 2024, the company operated 52 AHTS vessels throughout its service regions.
Small AHTS class: Generally, this vessel class includes AHTS vessels that have up to 8,000 BHP. These vessels typically work in shallow waters along the coast or on the continental shelf. As of December 31, 2024, the company operated 20 small AHTS vessels.
Medium AHTS class: Generally, this vessel class includes AHTS vessels that have between 8,000 and 16,000 BHP. These vessels can work in shallow waters along the coast or on the continental shelf, or in intermediate depths further offshore. As of December 31, 2024, the company operated 21 medium AHTS vessels.
Large AHTS class: Generally, this vessel class includes AHTS vessels with over 16,000 BHP. These vessels primarily work in deep water. Large AHTS vessels are equipped to tow drilling rigs and other marine equipment, as well as to set anchors for the positioning and mooring of drilling rigs that generally do not have dynamic positioning capabilities. As of December 31, 2024, the company operated 11 large AHTS vessels.
Platform Supply Vessels
PSVs generally have cargo-carrying capacities, both below deck (liquid mud tanks and dry bulk tanks) and above deck. Most of the company’s PSVs are outfitted with dynamic positioning capabilities, which allow the vessels to maintain an absolute or relative position when mooring to an offshore installation, or rig, or another vessel is deemed unsafe, impractical, or undesirable. Many of the company’s PSVs also have oil recovery, firefighting, standby rescue, and/or other specialized equipment.
As of December 31, 2024, the company operated 139 PSVs throughout its service regions.
Medium PSVs: Generally, this vessel class includes PSVs that have between 500 and 900 square meters of deck space. As of December 31, 2024, the company operated 70 Medium PSVs.
Large PSVs: Generally, this vessel class includes PSVs that have greater than 900 square meters of deck space. As of December 31, 2024, the company operated 69 Large PSVs.
Other Vessels
The company’s other vessel classes include crew boats, utility vessels, and offshore tugs. Crew boats and utility vessels are chartered to customers for use in transporting personnel and supplies from shore bases to offshore drilling rigs, platforms, and other installations. These vessels may be equipped for oil field security missions in markets where piracy, kidnapping, or other potential violence presents a concern. Offshore tugs are used to tow floating drilling rigs and barges; to assist in the docking of tankers; and to assist pipe laying, cable laying, and construction barges. During the year ended December 31, 2024, the company’s other vessels contributed approximately 4.0% of its vessel revenue. To support the company’s West Africa segment, it contracted to build two ocean-going tugs, which were completed and delivered in 2023; and eight Alucat crew boats, two of which were completed and delivered in 2023. As of December 31, 2024, the company operated 20 vessels classified as other. During January and February of 2025, the company took delivery of five Alucat crew boats.
Customers
For the year ended December 31, 2024, the company’s five largest customers accounted for approximately 36.1%, while its ten largest customers accounted for approximately 52.6% of its total revenues.
For the year ended December 31, 2024, the company's customers that accounted for 10% or more of total revenues were Eni S.p.A, and Chevron Corporation.
Seasonality
The company’s global vessel fleet generally has its highest utilization rates in the warmer months when the weather is more favorable for offshore exploration, field development, and construction work in the oil and gas industry. Additionally, the company’s vessels that operate offshore in India, other areas in Southeast Asia, and the Western Pacific are impacted by the monsoon season, which occurs across the region from November to April.
Government Regulations
All of the company’s vessels, and the maritime industry as a whole, are subject to the maritime safety, security, and environmental regulations established by the IMO, a specialized agency of the United Nations. The IMO’s principal sets of requirements are mandated through its International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (‘SOLAS’), its International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), and its International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW).
The company’s vessels are also subject to inspection by the port regulatory authorities, which are also referred to as Port State Control, in the various countries that they visit.
The company’s crew undergo regular safety training that meets or exceeds all international maritime regulations, including SOLAS requirements, which are periodically revised.
The company’s OSVs are regularly audited by its various national authorities, and it is required to maintain the relevant certificates of compliance with the ISM Code.
The company’s vessels are subject to numerous security requirements. These requirements include the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code, which is part of SOLAS, and the U.S. Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002, which addresses U.S. port and waterway security.
As a means of managing and improving the company’s environmental performance and compliance, it strives to adhere to standards set by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), an international standard-setting body, which produces worldwide industrial and commercial standards. The environmental management system used by the company has been certified in accordance with ISO 14001 in several locations in which it operates, the environmental management standard that was developed to help organizations manage the environmental impacts of their processes, products, and services.
The company’s operations in the U.S. are subject to a wide range of federal, state, and local governmental regulatory agencies, including the USCG, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Pipeline Safety, and the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.
Existing U.S. environmental laws and regulations to which the company is subject include, but are not limited to:
The Clean Air Act, which restricts the emission of air pollutants from many sources and imposes various preconstruction, operational, monitoring, and reporting requirements, and that the EPA has relied upon as the authority for adopting climate change regulatory initiatives relating to greenhouse gas emissions;
The Clean Water Act, which regulates discharges of pollutants from facilities to state and federal waters and establishes the extent to which waterways are subject to federal jurisdiction and rulemaking as protected waters of the U.S.;
The Oil Pollution Act of 1990, which subjects owners and operators of vessels, onshore facilities, and pipelines, as well as lessees or permittees of areas in which offshore facilities are located, to liability for removal costs and damages arising from an oil spill in waters of the U.S.;
The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, which imposes liability on generators, transporters, and arrangers of hazardous substances at sites where hazardous substance releases have occurred or are threatening to occur; and
The U.S. Department of the Interior regulations, which govern oil and gas operations on federal lands and waters and impose obligations for establishing financial assurances for decommissioning activities, liabilities for pollution cleanup costs resulting from operations, and potential liabilities for pollution damages.
In the U.S., the company is subject to the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) and other similar laws and regulations, which establish workplace standards for the protection of the health and safety of employees, including the implementation of hazard communications programs designed to inform employees about hazardous substances in the workplace, potential harmful effects of these substances, and appropriate control measures.
The company is subject to various U.S. federal, state, and local statutes and regulations governing the ownership, operation, and maintenance of vessels. The company’s U.S.-flagged vessels are subject to the jurisdiction of the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the U.S. Maritime Administration.
History
Tidewater Inc. was founded in 1956. The company, a Delaware corporation, was incorporated in 1956.