SEABULK INTERNATIONAL REPORTS LOSSES

SEABULK INTERNATIONAL REPORTS LOSSES    Seabulk International Inc., the provider of marine support and transportation services, primarily to the energy and chemical industries, reported losses for the second quarter and first half of 2002.
   The Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based company reported a second-quarter net loss of $4.4 million, compared to net income of $2.7 million for the year-earlier period.
   Second-quarter revenues fell 11 percent to $81.6 million, due primarily to reduced demand and lower day rates for the company's offshore vessels in the Gulf and Mexico markets, Seabulk said. Operation income was $8.5 million, down from $18.9 million in the second quarter of 2001.
   'Strong results from our domestic tanker business and from international offshore operations, particularly in West Africa, were not enough to offset the weak Gulf of Mexico market, which peaked in the second quarter of 2001 and hopefully touched bottom in the quarter just ended,' said Gerhard E. Kurz, president and chief executive officer. 'The bright spot in the quarter was our tanker business, where operating income rose 12 percent over the year-earlier period and 39 percent for the first six months of the year.'
   Seabulk is refocusing on its core assets, and recently sold its Port Arthur and Sun State shipyards, as well as 10 surplus offshore boats and five small crewboats in the Far East. The company used to proceeds mostly to pay down debt.
      The company will also proceed with a $100-million private placement of 12.5 million newly issues shares of common stock at $8 a share and a new bank credit facility of $180 million.
   For the first six months of 2002, Seabulk reported a net loss of $6.7 million, compared to a loss of $4.5 million for the first half of 2001. Revenue slipped 4.6 percent to $164.8 million, while operating income dove 24.9 percent to $20.5 million.