Seacor Holdings is continuing with its efforts to divest of investments in the shipping sector reporting that it has now sold its Caribbean liner and logistics business Seacor Container Lines following previous deals for its inland transport and harbor towing and merging its tanker operations into a joint venture with Crowley. King Ocean Services, another Florida-based transportation and logistics provider acquired Seacor Island Lines.
Based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Seacor Island Lines operates a fleet of seven RO/RO landing crafts as well as two lift-on/lift-off general cargo ships serving 30 destinations primarily in the Bahamas and Turks & Caicos. The company handles containerized and refrigerated cargoes, break bulk, and heavy equipment via weekly liner and charter service.
“Seacor Island Lines not only vastly enhances our existing platform by adding new end-markets and marine and shoreside infrastructure, but also augments our team with highly qualified transportation and logistics professionals,” said Jose Da Costa Gomez, President and Chief Executive Officer of King Ocean. The company specializes in marine transportation and logistics solutions to close to 50 destinations across the Caribbean and South and Central America operating from Port Everglades.
Seacor, a diversified holding portfolio company of American Industrial Partners, which has interests in domestic and international transportation and logistics assets, acquired G&G Shipping in 2011. Rebranded Seacor Island Lines they modernized the fleet and enhanced the company’s operations and management.
Last October, the company announced it had agreed to sell Inland River Transport Holdings, which includes more than 1,000 covered dry cargo hopper barges, eight 6,000-plus horsepower towboats, and a network of terminal and fleeting infrastructure along the Mississippi River to Ingram Barge Company. This followed a previous deal to sell U.S. harbor towing operations and assets from its Seabulk Towing Holdings to two E.N. Bisso & Son and Bay-Houston Towing Co. Bisso acquired 12 harbor towing vessels across ports in Florida and Alabama while Bay-Houston acquired eight vessels operating in Texas along the Sabine Neches Navigation District and in the Port of Lake Charles, Louisiana. Seacor highlighted however that it would continue to own and operate a fleet of tugs and barges in support of its Caribbean terminal and bunkering operations, including the KSM joint venture with partner KOTUG International.
Seacor Holdings, through its subsidiary Seabulk Tankers, also last fall announced that it was launching a joint venture with Crowley to integrate its liquid energy and chemical transportation vessels into an independent U.S. Jones Act service provider, Fairwater Holdings. The combined operation will include 20 ocean-going, articulated tug-barges and 11 tankers, as well as provide crewing and technical management for an additional 21 third-party owned vessels. Daniel Thorogood, CEO of Seabulk, was named to become the CEO of Fairwater which was due to launch in early 2024.
