Page 50: of Offshore Engineer Magazine (Mar/Apr 2026)

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VESSELS OSVs: A MEASURED REBOUND

Marine Money 2025 OSV Panel:

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

Marine Money nationally. Highlighting the bank’s decision on timing its ter Laborde Jr., managing member of the family-owned market entry, he said, “The world has re-discovered that Laborde Marine, which operates 25 vessels. Laborde refer- 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.”

He cited his frm’s decision to limit building activities

FINANCING THE NEXT MOVES

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 flings 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 million to vessel owner Otto Candies Ltd. for “general cor- Laborde was asked about the recent deal in which Otto porate purposes, including refnancing of existing indebt- Candies acquired four vessels from Harvey Gulf. He ex- edness and paying for the acquisition of the four MPSVs plained that Candies, an entity dating back to the 1940s, from Harvey Gulf.” The deal was widely discussed at the had gravitated toward offshore construction support — in

New Orleans event. contrast to offshore towing and traditional support — over

The Marine Money panel — coinciding with the an- the last two decades.

nual WorkBoat event — also included shipowner J. Pe- This evolution came at a time when industry stalwarts 50 OFFSHORE ENGINEER OEDIGITAL.COM