Tidewater CFO taking over CEO position

U.S. offshore vessel giant Tidewater has appointed new CEO  as the chief executive CEO John T. Rynd is retiring.

Tidewater said Wednesday that Quintin V. Kneen would take over as President, Chief Executive Officer, and director of Tidewater, effective immediately.

Kneen has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Tidewater since Tidewater’s November 2018 business combination with GulfMark Offshore, Inc. He served as President, Chief Executive Officer, and a director of GulfMark prior to the business combination.

Kneen will also continue to serve as the Company’s Chief Financial Officer until a successor is appointed to that position.

Tidewater’s Chairman of the Board, Thomas R. Bates said the company appreciated Rynd’s contributions during his tenure with Tidewater, including the 2018 merger with Gulfmark.

“He oversaw a successful merger with GulfMark that has positioned Tidewater to be the leader in the offshore service vessel industry while maintaining its unmatched financial strength and stability. We wish John all the best in his future plans,” Bates said.

Bates continued, “Quintin is well qualified to lead Tidewater, having led GulfMark through both a successful reorganization and its combination with Tidewater. Following our combination, in his role as CFO, he has been focused on the financial integration of the two organizations and achieving the cost and operational synergies of that combination. The Board is confident that Quintin will do an excellent job as Tidewater continues to navigate its way through an industry still seeking a fulsome recovery.”

The new CEO said: “I am proud to assume the leadership of this great company. Last year’s business combination created opportunities to realize synergies and strategic advantages. We will maximize the impact of these attributes and pursue additional opportunities to enhance our strategic position and capitalize on our large scale of operations.

“I am committed to continuing our outstanding safety record, maintaining our operational excellence and creating a business that is capital disciplined and dedicated to maximizing cash flow regardless of industry conditions. Tidewater’s scale of operations and its strong balance sheet place it in an excellent position to achieve these objectives and to deliver superior returns to our stockholders.”

To remind, Houston-based offshore support vessel owner Tidewater last year completed its business combination with its compatriot GulfMark Offshore, creating an OSV player with the world’s largest fleet, with the combined fleet of 273 offshore vessels.

In mid-August 2019, Tidewater reported second-quarter revenue of $125.9 million and a net loss of around $16 million.

John T. Rynd at the time said the company did not envision significant market advancement over the second half of 2019.

He did say that the company saw ongoing signs of improvement and that Tidewater’s outlook for the offshore market remains on a positive long-term slope “with reasons for optimism in each of our primary markets.”

Offshore Energy Today Staff

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