Exhibit 99.1



[SEACOR SMIT INC. LOGO]                                          PRESS RELEASE




             SEACOR ANNOUNCES ITS INTENTION TO PARTIALLY REEDEM ITS
                         CONVERTIBLE SUBORDINATED NOTES


HOUSTON, TEXAS
January 18, 2001

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - SEACOR SMIT Inc. (NYSE:CKH)("SEACOR") announced today
that it intends to call for redemption on February 20, 2001 $50,000,000 of the
$181,600,000 in aggregate principal amount outstanding of its 5-3/8% convertible
subordinated notes due 2006. The redemption price would be $1,029.90 per $1,000
principal amount of notes plus accrued interest from November 15, 2000 to the
redemption date. Holders of notes being called would be able to convert any or
all of their notes into 22.727 shares of Common Stock per $1,000 principal
amount of notes until the close of business (5:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time)
on February 16, 2001.

SEACOR expects to enter into a standby agreement with Credit Suisse First Boston
Corporation under which Credit Suisse First Boston will agree, subject to
certain conditions, to purchase from SEACOR the shares of Common Stock that
otherwise would have been delivered upon conversion of up to $50,000,000
aggregate principal amount of the notes that are subject to the call but are not
converted. SEACOR would use those proceeds to redeem notes that are called for
redemption but not converted.

THIS RELEASE DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER FOR SALE OF ANY SECURITIES.

SEACOR and its subsidiaries engage in two primary activities (i) operation of a
diversified fleet of marine vessels primarily dedicated to supporting offshore
oil and gas exploration and development in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, offshore
West Africa, the North Sea, the Far East, Latin America, and other foreign
regions and (ii) provision of environmental services domestically and
internationally, including marine oil spill response, training, and consulting.

This release includes "forward-looking statements" intended to qualify for the
safe harbor from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. Statements herein that describe the company's business
strategy, industry outlook, objectives, plans, intentions or goals also are
forward-looking statements. All such forward-looking statements are subject to
certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those in forward-looking statements. The forward-looking
statements included in this release are made only as of the date of this release
and the company undertakes no obligation to publicly update the forward-looking
statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

For additional information, contact Randall Blank at (212) 307-6633, or visit
SEACOR's website at www.seacormarine.com.




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