New Orleans-based offshore support vessel provider and some of its subsidiaries will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection by May 17 as part of a restructuring support agreement with some of its creditors, the firm announced on Friday.
Tidewater said it expects the plan to eliminate around $1.6bn in principal of its outstanding debt.
It says it has sufficient liquidity to continue operating, paying staff and vendors during the restructuring.
For more than a year now, dating back to March 2016, Tidewater has been using extensions of limited waivers from creditors as it sought ways to amend its debt arrangements.
Tidewater has more than 300 vessels and is a leading OSV provider but its revenues have fallen off during the oil-price slump of the past two years.
