Gary Chouest News

The first-ever American-built, owned, and crewed offshore wind service operations vessel (SOV) was christened during a ceremony on Saturday in the Port of New Orleans.Edison Chouest Offshore's (ECO) recently completed ECO Edison will play an integral part of the operation and maintenance of Ørsted and Eversource’s South Fork Wind, Revolution Wind and Sunrise Wind projects as the U.S. offshore wind industry continues to ramp up in the U.S. Northeast.Built at ECO in-house shipyards in Louisiana…

U.S. offshore shipbuilder and shipowner Edison Chouest this week marked the 50-percent completion milestone for the U.S.-flagged ECO Edison, the first Jones Act-compliant wind farm SOV. Senior executives from offshore wind developers Ørsted and Eversource toured the Edison Chouest Offshore shipyard in Louisiana to see the progress on the SOV.ECO Edison will be delivered in 2024 and immediately provide operational support out of Port Jefferson, New York, for Ørsted and Eversource's joint venture offshore wind portfolio, which includes South Fork Wind, Revolution Wind and Sunrise Wind.

Offshore vessel operator Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO) will build and operate the first-ever U.S. flagged Jones Act compliant Service Operations Vessel (SOV), used for offshore wind farm operation and maintenance works.Edison Chouest Offshore, Ørsted, and Eversource announced Thursday the execution of a long-term charter agreement for the provision of the SOV."The SOV will be engineered, constructed and operated by ECO as an integral part of the operation and maintenance of the Revolution Wind…

Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO) and its family of companies has reached a 30-month alliance agreement with BP, the largest energy investor in deepwater Gulf of Mexico over the past decade. Chouest and BP have enjoyed a business alliance for over eight years, and the new alliance will continue to include Chouest affiliates ECO (vessel services), C-Port (multi-service terminal facilities in Louisiana’s Port Fourchon) and C-Logistics (logistics coordination, expediting and tracking cargo movement). Items in the alliance agreement include a three-year extension for utilization of BP’s Gulf of Mexico Preservation and Maintenance facility, designed and built by Chouest, and located at the intersection of Hwy. 90 and LA 311, just northwest of Houma, La.

With familiar faces, new partnerships and Houston office, Damen widens its North American profile with a flurry of new work orders. With a flourish and a flurry of new business, Damen’s new U.S.-based office officially opened in Houston, Texas on July 1, 2016. Registered as Damen Area Support North America BV Co., it has been established to provide a local presence and work hand-in-hand with the North American market, offering a full range of ready built, standard and custom design vessels as well as the products and services of Damen Shipyards group ‘License to Build’ program.

Marine transportation provider and the United States’ largest operator of OSVs, Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO), has teamed up with Damen to build 13 heavy duty mooring assistance and escort tugs. The vessels will be built in the U.S. using ECO’s network of five shipyards with support from Damen under its Technical Cooperation program. The new tugs will be deployed on two major maritime projects for which ECO has recently won contracts. The first of these is a contract that ECO won earlier this year with a new Corpus Christi based LNG export terminal.

Edison Chouest Offshore locating shipbuilding operations, TopShip, LLC, in Gulfport, Miss. Gov. Phil Bryant and officials from Edison Chouest Offshore, an offshore energy service and supply company, officially announced today the company is locating shipbuilding operations at the Port of Gulfport in Gulfport, Miss. The project represents a $68 million corporate investment and will create 1,000 full-time jobs. Edison Chouest Offshore’s new Gulfport operations, TopShip, LLC, will be located at the Port of Gulfport’s new inland port on Seaway Road.

Proliferation of energy related transport continues to drive commercial U.S. As the United States aims towards energy independence by the end of this decade, domestic shipyards and vessels owners are reaping rewards from this most unexpected turn of events. Hydraulic Fracturing, or fracking, has been the main (and well publicized) culprit in the rapid turn of events. While the proliferation of gas has been widely known for years, the presence of oil, in quantity, was a pleasant…

U.S. marine vessel operators have invested in their fleets, adopted new technologies and switched to cleaner burning engines and fuels to stay in business. In this edition, we take a look at how industry leading marine operators have flourished, sometimes in tough circumstances. At family-run McAllister and Chouest, sons and daughters learned operations from the ground up, while CEO Todd Hornbeck revamped the first version of a company started by his dad. All value their employees and say workplace safety is a priority. Each of these companies is quick to meet customer demands.

Representatives of Westport Shipyard, Inc. (Westport, WA), the largest yacht builder in North America, announced today that the company’s assets have been acquired by Westport, LLC, an ownership group that includes members of the Louisiana-based Chouest family. Celebrating 50 years of business in 2014, Westport maintains three locations in Washington state, as well as a marina and sales office in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Employing over 400 skilled employees, Westport has completed more than 120 yachts since 2000. And one of those customers was Gary Chouest. “Gary has always been passionate about our industry, and we are honored to count him as a customer…

Edison Chouest Offshore and Island Offshore are ordering two new OCV vessels through the company Island Ventures II LLC. One vessel will be built at Ulstein Verft, Norway, and the other in the United States. Ulstein Verft has been contracted to build a new offshore construction vessel of the Ulstein SX165 design. This will be the largest vessel built at the yard so far, as well as its largest single shipbuilding contract. The vessel is scheduled for delivery Q3 2015. “We are very…

The Edison Chouest Offshore group of companies (ECO) has announced the appointment of Rick Fox as senior vice president and general manager of Alaska operations. Fox will be responsible for leading all ECO vessel activities in the Arctic, as well as overseeing the operation of Chouest affiliates Fairweather, LLC, Deadhorse Aviation Center, Tulugaq, LLC and VDOS, LLC (Virtual Data Operations Support). ECO operates a fleet of over 200 highly-specialized support vessels, ranging from 87 to 360 feet in length, serving a global customer base.

Ongoing infrastructure and newbuild activity not expected to let up. Modern, sophisticated and quality tonnage arrives at just the right time. Vessel builders are ramped up for strong demand from the Gulf of Mexico, where oil drilling is very soon expected to return to pre-Macondo levels. Utilization rates for offshore vessels are rising in the GoM, along with associated dayrates. Three Louisiana leaders--Edison Chouest Offshore in Cut Off, Hornbeck Offshore Services Inc. in Covington and Harvey Gulf International Marine in New Orleans--are engaged in aggressive newbuild programs.

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. ECO’s worldwide fleet now approaches 250 highly specialized offshore service and support vessels.

The Edison Chouest Offshore family of companies announced plans to design and build a series of a dozen 300-ft., 5,300 DWT deepwater diesel-electric offshore supply vessels. “Since 2003, the core of our newbuild program has been a series of 42 new generation, 4,750 DWT deepwater 280-ft. offshore supply vessels,” said Gary Chouest. “Those vessels revolutionized the industry and have performed remarkably well for our many customers in the U.S. But with the 280-ft. series winding down (30 currently in operation, another 12 under construction and scheduled for completion by the second quarter 2010), Chouest sought a different and more diverse option for its customers. “Our diesel-electric design complies with all new emissions standards and IMO regulations.

On November 18, 2008, Edison Chouest Offshore officials appeared before the Tampa Port Authority in an effort to secure the assignment of Tampa Bay Shipbuilding and Repair’s long-term lease agreement with the port. The authority had no objection to the transfer and, on that date, Tampa Ship, LLC was born. Chouest assumed management and operation of the yard in early December. The Tampa shipyard is a full service conversion, overhaul and repair facility that was previously owned by a group associated with Mobile, AL-based Bender Shipbuilding and Repair.

Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO) plans to continue its newbuilding program. Having already designed, built, owned and operated almost 70 new generation offshore vessels servicing the deepwater oil and gas industry over the past decade, the company plans for 11 new vessels, with options for an additional 14. Construction highlights feature three additional 280-ft. deepwater supply vessels, with an option for 10; four 160-ft. fast supply vessels, with an option for another four; three Norwegian-designed and built platform supply vessels; and a 348-ft. survey support ship. The supply vessels and survey support ship are being constructed at ECO's shipbuilding facilities in Larose and Houma, La.; the fast supply vessels are designed and built at Breaux Brothers Enterprises in Loreauville, La.

Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO) announced plans to continue its newbuilding program. Having already designed, built, owned and operated almost 70 new generation offshore vessels servicing the deepwater oil and gas industry over the past decade, the company plans for 11 new vessels, with options for an additional 14. Construction highlights feature three additional 280-ft. deepwater supply vessels, with an option for another 10; four 160-ft. fast supply vessels, with an option for another four; three Norwegian-designed and built platform supply vessels; and a 348-ft. survey support ship. The supply vessels and survey support ship are being constructed at ECO's shipbuilding facilities in Larose and Houma…

Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO) announced plans to continue its newbuilding program. Having already designed, built, owned and operated almost 70 new generation offshore vessels servicing the deepwater oil and gas industry over the past decade, the company plans for 11 new vessels, with options for an additional 14. Construction highlights feature three additional 280-ft. deepwater supply vessels, with an option for another 10; four 160-ft. fast supply vessels, with an option for another four; three Norwegian-designed and built platform supply vessels; and a 348-ft. survey support ship.

Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO) is nearing completion of its 60th vessel for deepwater operations. This number includes platform supply vessels (PSV) and anchor handling vessels (AHTS). The sixtieth vessel is the last of a series of five 260' vessels with 3,500 tons of deadweight cargo capacity. ECO owns and operates 122 offshore vessels of all types, including 62 certified dynamically positioned (DP) vessels. Deliveries for the second half of 2002 include: one 260' PSV, one 280' PSV, one 348' AHTS, and one 165' fast supply vessel (FSV). The 348' AHTS , the M/V LANEY CHOUEST, will have 30,000 HP and will be one of the largest offshore vessels in the world. The 280' PSV will have in excess of 4,500 tons of deadweight cargo capacity and will be the first of six vessels with the same capacity.

Bollinger Shipyards signed a contract for three 145 ft. supply/utility boats with Edison Chouest Offshore. "It's wonderful to again be building boats for the Chouest organization," said Donald "Boysie" Bollinger, chairman and CEO of Bollinger. Vessels will meet new regulatory standards and will be less than 100 GT (U. S. Reg.) and less than 500 GT (ITC) registered tonnage. Each vessel will measure 145 x 36 ft. with a maximum draft of 11.5-ft. Normal operating draft will be eight ft. A pair of Cummins KTA-38MO diesel engines rated 750 bhp at 1,600 rpm were selected to power the vessel, driving Bollinger 72 x 57 in., four-blade, stainless steel propellers through Twin Disc MG5301 reverse/reduction gears with a ratio of 4.96:1.

Edison Chouest, a commercial shrimper who turned one utility vessel into a major shipbuilding and offshore petroleum service company, has died at the age of 91, the AP reported. Chouest died Wednesday. A cause of death was not released. Edison Chouest Offshore had its beginnings in 1960 when Chouest, who owned shrimp boats, purchased a steel-hulled 65-foot utility vessel that had six months to go in a contract with Humble Oil Co. to supply a petroleum rig in the . Chouest is survived by his wife, Delores Chouest; three sons, current Edison Chouest Offshore CEO Gary Chouest, Eddie Chouest and Laney Chouest. Visitations were scheduled for Sunday in Galliano and Monday in Cut Off, followed by a funeral mass on Monday in Cut Off.

Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO) announced plans to build several new anchor handling towing supply vessels (AHTS), as well as more than a dozen new generation 280-ft. platform supply vessels (PSV) in its affiliated shipyards in the U.S. All vessels are scheduled to join the ECO domestic fleet within the next three years. Construction highlights feature seven new anchor handlers: Two (2) 348-ft., 21,600 HP new generation anchor handlers and five (5) 288-ft., 16,000 HP vessels. Also slated for construction are fourteen (14) 4,700 deadweight ton PSVs. All the vessels are slated for delivery between February 2007 and mid-2010, and will be constructed at ECO affiliated shipyards: North American Shipbuilding (NAS) in Larose…