News

September 2010

We're pleased to announce that following continued expansion we have moved to new offices just outside Drem, North Berwick.

August 2009

The Edison Chouest Offshore family of companies will design and build a new class of 300-ft (91-m), 5,300 DWT deepwater diesel-electric powered offshore supply vessels.

The new design will use four 1,700 kW generators providing power to two 2,500 kW variable speed electric motors. The vessels will also have four tunnel thrusters, two at the bow and two at the stern. The vessels will be longer than the current series of OSV and have increased tank and deck cargo capacities.

Autumn 2009

An Alaskan press conference in late June heralded the news that ECO had been awarded a contract from Shell to design and construct a large Arctic class icebreaking/
anchor handling vessel. Although the final design is not yet complete, it is estimated that the ship will be between 360-400 feet, the largest and most sophisticated newbuild in the company’s history. The powerful boat is designed to perform anchor handling and set mooring lines in the icy Beaufort and Chukchi seas. Hull 247, as the vessel is now known as, will be a qualified Jones Act ship and will be multi-dimensional, able to make supply runs for Shell in the treacherous seas north of Alaska. Estimated to necessitate 1.3 million man-hours to build, the vessel is slated for delivery in March 2012, with construction set to begin late this fall. The ship will contain 64 bunks and will be powered by two Caterpillar C280-12 diesel engines. Many environmental features are also included in the design, and its double hull will be painted blue at the request of residents of the Alaskan North Slope, who fear that the typical Chouest orange could scare away whales.

New Covered Dry Dock at Fourchon

The Fourchon Covered Drydock, 420’ long by 400’ wide, and rising 15 stories tall, is now available for vessels in need of maintenance, inspection and repair. The middle slip was dredged to a 40-ft. depth, accommodating the existing Fourchon drydock, which was recently upgraded to allow for a lifting capacity of 8,884.45 LT. This slip can accept vessels for bottom work and hull inspections, while the side slips will be utilized for topside vessel repairs and inspections. The LAURENCE M. GOULD, Chouest’s Antarctic icebreaking/ research ship, became the first vessel to occupy the massive middle slip, as it settled in for its regulatory hull inspection.