Posted on March 7, 2023 at 5:19 pm by
The Maritime Executive
Consolidation continues in the U.S. tugboat shipping industry with reports that Houston, Texas-based Campbell Transportation Company is acquiring most of the marine assets of NGL Energy Partners, a midstream energy company based in Oklahoma. NGL referred to Marine Assets as a non-core business for its operations that transports, stores, markets and provides other logistics services for crude oil and natural gas.
Campbell, which provides dry and liquid bulk shipping and services on inland waterways with operating facilities on the Ohio River and Gulf Coast, said the transaction will be another step in its strategic plan to diversify its maritime business line. After closing, they will own or operate more than 1,250 barges throughout the waterway system, including 95 tank barges. The fleet will consist of assets working in both the dry and liquid cargo trade and is supported by the operation of more than 60 tugs.
Call its operations “one of the best fleets in the business,” but NGL said it was a non-core operation that would be sold through two definitive agreements for a total price of $111.65 million in cash.
“This sale of non-core assets should allow NGL to further reduce leverage before March 31, 2023, as these proceeds will be used to reduce debt,” said NGL CEO Mike Krimbill. “Our near-term focus remains on reducing absolute debt and leverage.”
NGL provided waterborne transportation of refined products and crude oil for a diversified group of customers including major oil refineries on the Gulf Coast. The company’s operations consist of 13 tugboats and 25 tank barges. NGL started its marine business in 2013 after merging Third Coast Towing and Cierra Marine. Ten of its tugs are young, built between 2015 and 2020. Similarly, many of the barges had been built in the last decade.
Campbell said it would acquire “the majority of the marine assets,” without specifying which parties were in its deal with NGL. Terms of the second deal that NGL and the buyer signed were not announced.
