Page 37: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (October 1997)

WORKBOAT ANNUAL

Hvide Investment Signals Consolidation Continuation

It's cliche but true: Only the strong can survive the unprece- dented level of merger and acquisi- tion activity sweeping the mar- itime industry around the world.

In a move that will double the size of its towing operations, Hvide

Marine has acquired the 14-vessel harbor tug fleet of Bay

Transportation Corp. (Tampa,

Fla.). Aside from adding an esti- mated $17 million in incremental revenues to Hvide's coffers, this acquisition sends an undeniable message that the consolidation of power continues at a torrid pace. "The acquisition of Bay

Transportation adds a first class fleet of tractor tugs to our towing operations and extends our geo- graphic reach in the growing Gulf of Mexico market," said J. Erik

Hvide, chairman, president and

CEO. "More important still, it sig- nals the start of our new consolida- tion initiative in the U.S. harbor tug business which, with more than 40 mainly small and private operators nationwide, has many of the same characteristics of the off- shore workboat business before its recent consolidation. Bay

Transportation is the main provider of harbor towing services in the Port of Tampa and charters tugboats to other operators in the ports of San Francisco and Long

Beach, Calif. Its 14-vessel fleet includes six tractor tugs and will bring to 30 the number of tugs operated by Hvide Marine, includ- ing nine tractor tugs.

Hvides's other towing operations include Port of Everglades and

Port Canaveral Towing in Florida,

Mobile Bay Towing in Alabama, and Hvide's Offshore Towing fleet operating mainly in the Gulf of

Mexico. Hvide operates a fleet of 158 vessels in two core businesses:

Marine Support Services (126 ves- sels), and Marine Transportation

Services (32 vessels).

The $6 M Module

Excitement is still brewing over the $6 million contract Hvide signed with Halter Marine earlier this year, for the construction of two Ship Docking Modules (SDM) scheduled for delivery early next year. The SDM is a double-ended ship-docking vessel designed in conjunction with Elliott Bay

Design Group and representing the next generation of harbor tugs.

October, 1997 39 "This is the first major break- through in tugboat design in near- ly 100 years," said Erik Hvide, chairman, president and CEO. "The SDM's rounded shape and twin Z-drives give it unmatched maneuverability and power, mak- ing it the safest and most cost-effi- cient ship-docking vessel in the world. It's the first vessel capable of generating 100 percent of its bollard pull in any direction - for- ward, backward and sideways. It's so different from a conventional (Continued on page 78)

Land Earth Stations and Mobile Terminals

Since Inmarsat began to offer satellite communications between ships at sea and the international telephone and telex networks more than a decade ago, Nera has been the leading manufacturer of Inmarsat technology.

Nera has designed and built nearly forty per cent of all Land Earth Stations in the Inmarsat system. About 8,000 Mobile Earth Stations of the Saturn family have been commissioned on ships and on land.

Nera is the world's leading supplier of Inmarsat

Land Earth Stations and Mobile Terminals.

Saturn - 8,000 units on ships and on land

Nera AS

Satcom Division

Bergerveien 12, P. O. Box 94, N-1 361 BILLINGSTAD, Norway

Tel.: +47 66 84 47 00. Fax.: +47 66 84 46 21. Telex 71721 umeb n

NERR

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Circle 311 on Reader Service Card