Edison Chouest Offshore Ordering New Vessels, Expanding Terminals
The Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO) global family of companies, plans to enlarge its fleet and expand its terminal facilities in support of its customer base.
The Chouest newbuild order book contains over 40 vessels, a vast majority to be constructed at its four U.S.-affiliate shipyards: North American Shipbuilding (Larose, LA), LaShip (Houma, LA), Gulf Ship (Gulfport, MS) and Tampa Ship (Tampa, FL), as well as its Brazilian shipyard, Navship.
NEW 312’ PSV CLASS
ECO’s worldwide fleet now approaches 250 highly specialized offshore service and support vessels. The largest portion of the newbuild program contains 17 vessels, with options for an additional 20, in a new class of 312’ x 66’ x 26’ new generation, clean design, diesel-electric platform supply vessels (PSV).
This class features a new hull form that was designed to maximize deadweight while significantly reducing hydrodynamic resistance, thereby improving fuel efficiency.
NEW VESSELS INCLUDE ICE CLASS, MPSV, SUBSEA, WELL STIM
The Chouest newbuild program also includes two (2) new high ice class AHTS vessels for Arctic service, currently being designed. The vessels will mark the fifth and sixth icebreaking vessels in the ECO fleet, making Chouest the largest designer, builder, owner and operator of icebreaking vessels in the U.S. industry.
Additionally, Chouest will build four (4) subsea construction vessels, slated for service in the Gulf of Mexico market. Features include ROVs from Chouest affiliate C-Innovation, as well as a 400 MT AHC deepwater crane.
PORT EXPANSION
Chouest affiliate C-Port, located in the bustling central Gulf of Mexico port of Fourchon, revolutionized vessel services and material movement upon its opening in 1996. Additional Chouest terminal affiliate and support companies in Fourchon have joined its ranks since, including C-Port 2, Martin Terminal, Clean Tank, Fourchon Heavy Lift, C-Logistics and C-Terminal.
Currently, 93% of all Gulf of Mexico drilling rigs operate out of Port Fourchon, with 85% being serviced by one of the Chouest port locations.
Chouest affiliate C-Port 3 is currently under construction and slated to feature an additional six (6) covered slips to transfer cargo and provide support to deepwater offshore support vessels.
The multi-service terminal is slated to be operational by March 2014. In addition, the design process has begun for C-Port 4 in Fourchon, which could contain as many as nine (9) additional covered slips, reinforcing ECO’s role as the preeminent terminal support provider in the deepwater Gulf.
The Chouest purchase this year of the C-Terminal facility in Port Fourchon, featuring 2,000 linear feet of bulkheaded waterfront property, provided another innovative loading and storage solution for Chouest customers. The company has announced plans to expand the C-Terminal worksite, adding to its expansive outside storage area, warehouses, bulk, cement and barite plants, and fuel, water, mud and drilling fluid sales.
Chouest port facilities in Fourchon are not the only terminal sites with expansion in mind. Chouest’s workable solutions to minimizing port turnaround time have now targeted Brazil. Design is well underway for a major port development to support the company’s vast vessel fleet in that country.
“Reacting to customer demands, ECO continues to lead the industry by designing, building and operating new generation vessels featuring the latest available technology,” said ECO President Gary Chouest. “We are a customer-centric company: Our main goal is to support their activities with state-of-the-art vessels, expanded terminal facilities, subsea services, fully-integrated logistics, and shorebase support wherever necessary.”