Kirby to Acquire Fleet of Cenac Marine Services for $244 Million

Photo: MarineTraffic.com/DRAYE

Houston-based Kirby Corporation has announced a definitive agreement to acquire the marine transportation fleet of Houma-based Cenac Marine Services for approximately $244 million in cash.

Cenac’s fleet consists of 63 30,000-barrel inland tank barges with approximately 1.9 million barrels of capacity, 34 inland towboats, and 2 offshore tugboats.

The closing of the acquisition is expected to take place in the first quarter of 2019 and is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.

Cenac moves petrochemicals, refined products, and black oil, including crude oil, residual fuels, feedstocks and lubricants on the lower Mississippi River, its tributaries, and Gulf Intracoastal Waterway for major oil companies and refineries.

Kirby said the purchase will be made in cash and financed through additional borrowings.

“The acquisition of Cenac’s young fleet of well-maintained inland tank barges and modern boats is an ideal complement to Kirby’s operations,” commented David Grzebinski, Kirby’s President and Chief Executive Officer. Cenac has a strong history of operational excellence, and is well respected by the industry and its customers. Cenac’s inland fleet of 30,000-barrel tank barges, of which approximately 80% are clean and 20% are heated black oil vessels, has an average age of only four years. Similarly, Cenac’s fleet of modern inland towboats and offshore tugboats has an average age of only six years. The addition of these vessels to Kirby’s fleet will not only further reduce our average age profile, but will also further enable us to avoid significant capital outlays for new vessels in the future.”

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