The world's largest OSV owner is looking to get smaller.
On the Houston-based company's fourth quarter conference call Friday, Tidewater chief executive John Rynd said the company was looking to get rid of 40 older ships that are simply too pricey to reactivate as the offshore market continues to lag.
"We remain heavily focused on disposing of these older uncompetitive assets," he said, referring to the ships as increasing liabilities.
The Tidewater-GulfMark merger completed in the fall gave the combined company a 375-ship fleet, the largest offshore fleet in the world.
The disposal of older assets, though, stretches back years, with Rynd telling analysts the company dumped 38 vessels last year, either sold to noncompetitive parties or scrapped.
Since 2012, he said, 217 ships have been disposed of, with 85 sold to recycling yards.
For the fourth quarter, Tidewater posted a $90.5m net loss, partially the result of $57m in impairment charges from the GulkMark merger and from those older ships.
