K-Sea acquires companies in Hawaii, Seattle

K-Sea acquires companies in Hawaii, Seattle Tank barge company K-Sea Transportation Partners L.P. said it would increase its capacity by 22 percent through the acquisition of two West Coast companies.
   East Brunswick, N.J.-based K-Sea said it will spend about $205 Million to buy Smith Maritime Ltd. of Honolulu, Hawaii, and Sirius Maritime LLC of Seattle, Wash.
   Smith is controlled by Gordon Smith, who is also one of the three owners of Sirius and will join the management of K-Sea.
   The transactions are expected to be completed in July or early August.
   On a combined basis, the companies being purchased have 11 petroleum tank barges and 10 tugboats, aggregating 777,000 barrels of capacity, of which 670,000 barrels or 86 percent are double-hulled.
   The addition of the barges will represent a 22 percent increase in the barrel-carrying capacity of the K-Sea fleet to about 4.3 million barrels.