NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Jan. 9, 2008--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that its ratings and outlook on Hornbeck Offshore Services Inc. (BB-/Stable/--) are unaffected by Hornbeck's announcement that it has agreed to buy the Superior Achiever, a multipurpose support vessel currently being constructed by Merwede Shipyard in the Netherlands for Superior Offshore International Inc. At the same time, Superior Offshore contracted with Hornbeck for a five-year time charter on this vessel or another, similar one. Hornbeck also announced that it has added two more 240-foot offshore supply vessels to its construction program and purchased a leasehold interest adjacent to its HOS Port in Port Fourchon, La. Estimated total spending for all these transactions is about $190 million,
