Tidewater Inc. Enters Guarantee Agreement for BNDES Construction Loans

What Happened Tidewater Inc. announced on Sept. 21, 2026 that it entered into a Guarantee Agreement with Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (BNDES). Under the agreement, Tidewater guarantees the full and timely payment of the borrower’s obligations under certain BNDES construction loan facilities made to its indirect wholly owned Brazil unit (formerly Wilson Sons Offshore S.A., now Tidewater do Brasil S.A.). The guarantee is an unsecured obligation of Tidewater and, subject to limitations in the agreement, ranks pari passu with Tidewater’s other unsecured, unsubordinated obligations. The company is working with BNDES to remove Wilson Sons S.A. and Remolcadores Ultratug Limitada as guarantors of those loans.

Key Details

• Date of agreement: September 21, 2026.
• Borrower: Wilson Sons Offshore S.A. (now Tidewater do Brasil S.A.); Lender: BNDES.
• Affected facilities: Credit Facility Agreements Nos. 07.2.0417.1, 07.2.0418.1, 10.2.1621.1, 12.2.0433.1, and 12.2.0434.1 (originated 2007–2012, amended from time to time).
• Nature of Tidewater’s obligation: unsecured guarantee that constitutes a direct financial obligation of the company and ranks pari passu with other unsecured, unsubordinated obligations.
• Filing: Guarantee Agreement is filed as Exhibit 10.1 to the 8-K.

Why It Matters This guarantee converts potential contingent exposure tied to Tidewater’s Brazil unit into a direct, unsecured obligation of Tidewater, which could affect the company’s reported financial obligations and creditors’ ranking. For investors, the items to watch next are any disclosure of amounts outstanding under the BNDES facilities, changes to the guarantor structure (removal of Wilson Sons/Remolcadores), and any related impacts on Tidewater’s liquidity, leverage metrics, or covenant compliance.