Seacor Holdings sells harbor towing assets operating in Gulf of Mexico

Marine services provider Seacor Holdings Inc. announced it has sold its U.S. harbor towing operations and assets to E.N. Bisso & Son Inc. and Bay-Houston Towing Co.

The E.N. Bisso transaction includes 12 vessels across ports in Florida and Alabama. Bay-Houston is acquiring eight vessels operating in East Texas along the Sabine Neches Navigation District and in the Port of Lake Charles, Louisiana.

Seacor Holdings conducted its U.S. towing operations through its subsidiary Seabulk Towing. Seabulk will continue to own and operate a fleet of tugs and barges in support of its Caribbean terminal and bunkering operations.

Terms of the sale to E.N. Bisso and Bay-Houston were not disclosed. The transaction also includes an unspecified number of employees working for Seabulk’s operations in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Texas.

Officials for Bay-Houston said the acquisition of the eight Seabulk tug vessels allows them to enhance services in Louisiana and Texas.

“We have admired Seabulk for many years, and Bay-Houston is delighted to expand its operations to two important, high-growth ports,” Philip Kuebler, Bay-Houston president and CEO, said in a news release. “We look forward to providing our customers with a smooth transition and long-term investment to support their growth in these ports.”

The acquisition increases Bay-Houston’s fleet to 34 tugboats. The Houston-based company was founded in the 1890s and assists ships calling the ports of Houston, Galveston, Texas City, Freeport and Corpus Christi in Texas, as well as Lake Charles. 

Officials for New Orleans-based E.N. Bisso said the acquisition allows them to develop the company’s brand into new markets.

The transaction increases E.N. Bisso’s fleet to 34 vessels. Five of the vessels acquired from Seabulk are advanced rotortugs, according to a news release.

“We are excited to expand our brand into four new ports,” Matt Holzhalb, E.N. Bisso’s president and CEO, said in a statement. “We look forward to growing with the business of these ports and welcome Seabulk Towing’s highly-skilled professionals to the E.N. Bisso family.”

E.N. Bisso, founded in the 1880s, is a provider of harbor tug services for the ports of New Orleans; Gulfport, Mississippi; Port Canaveral, Florida and Palm Beach, Florida. 

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