Page 34: of Marine News Magazine (March 2026)

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Feature

OSVs

Marine Money 2025 OSV Panel:

Peter Laborde, William Baldwin (moderator) and Morten Arntzen.

Marine Money they’re going to need the offshore sector.” enced a key market characteristic: its ups and downs.

Importantly, he also alluded to periods of caution — Referring to the 2010-15 period, Laborde — whose as opposed to times of extreme optimism — in asset father founded Tidewater — said, “We were all building markets as being opportune moments for lenders to step boats during those years.” He lamented that in 2015-16, into sectors. “the market just shifted overnight … and the oil compa- nies pulled the plug on the offshore business.”

Financing the Next Moves He cited his ? rm’s decision to limit building activities

While Macquarie seeks to leverage its experience in several years before the pullback, pay off debt and avoid other geographies as it enters the U.S. market, another ac- the wave of bankruptcy ? lings that ultimately followed. tive player is CSG Investments, focused on secured lend- “Today we have no debt,” he said.

ing across multiple sectors, including domestic maritime.

CSG is linked to Beal Bank, based in Plano, Texas. Strategic Shifts and Consolidation

In a press release, CSG revealed that it was lending $450 Laborde was asked about the recent deal in which Otto million to vessel owner Otto Candies Ltd. for “general cor- Candies acquired four vessels from Harvey Gulf. He ex- porate purposes, including re? nancing of existing indebt- plained that Candies, an entity dating back to the 1940s, edness and paying for the acquisition of the four MPSVs had gravitated toward offshore construction support — in from Harvey Gulf.” The deal was widely discussed at the contrast to offshore towing and traditional support — over

New Orleans event. the last two decades.

The Marine Money panel — coinciding with the an- This evolution came at a time when industry stalwarts nual WorkBoat event — also included shipowner J. Pe- such as Harvey Gulf and Hornbeck Offshore Services ter Laborde Jr., managing member of the family-owned needed to pivot following oil company pullbacks in the

Laborde Marine, which operates 25 vessels. Laborde refer- mid-2010s, shifting from standard OSVs toward multi- 34 | MN March 2026