Edison Chouest News

Miros and Marine Technologies (MT) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to collaborate on integrating advanced marine sensing technologies with MT’s vessel control and smart-ship systems, the companies said on Wednesday.The agreement, which involves no financial commitments, outlines the companies’ intent to combine Miros’ real-time ocean sensing, wave and current monitoring, and oil spill detection technologies with MT’s footprint in offshore vessel control and dynamic…

As oil exploration and production goes, so goes the market for Offshore Service Vessels (OSVs) and Platform Supply Vessels (PSVs). Throughout 2025, the prices of oil- which drives exploration and production (E & P), have softened, moving down towards $60/barrel amidst economic uncertainty and a wider than anticipated opening of the taps by major oil producers. In the past year, the Baker Hughes overall count of U.S. rigs working has declined. September 2025’s U.S. Rig count of…

HD Hyundai is partnering with Germany's Siemens to accelerate the digital transformation and modernization of the U.S. shipbuilding industry.HD Hyundai and Siemens recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that aims to enhance the overall competitiveness of the US shipbuilding industry by improving design quality, minimizing production risks, enhancing quality, and reducing costs.The partnership will drive gradual technological innovation across the shipbuilding sector by advancing the digitalization of ship design…

U.S. shipbuilders and port operators are getting hit in the fallout from President Donald Trump’s campaign to wipe out the offshore wind industry, suffering hundreds of millions of dollars in lost government support, vanishing vessel orders, and an uncertain future for the billions of dollars' worth of investments.The impact represents an unintended consequence of Trump’s policy on the offshore wind industry, which has included stop-work orders and permit reviews for massive projects…

China’s share of the tanker orderbook rose from 32.4% in 2022, to 62.6% in 2023 and then 71.2% in 2024. Its share of the container ship orderbook has shown a similar growth trajectory. The nation has ranked first in the world for new orders since 2012. Labor costs are about half of what they are in Korea and Japan, and China is the world’s cheapest steel manufacturer.Niels Rasmussen, Chief Shipping Analyst at BIMCO, says that during the past five years Chinese shipyards have built 50% of the ship capacity delivered, and Chinese shipyards now hold 66% of the ship capacity in the orderbook.

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries has secured a contract for the maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) of a U.S. Navy auxiliary ship — marking the first since the Korean government’s “Make American Shipbuilding Great Again (MASGA)” proposal.HD Hyundai Heavy Industries won the scheduled overhaul project for the USNS Alan Shepard, a 41,000-ton dry cargo and ammunition ship assigned to the U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet.The USNS Alan Shepard, measuring 210 meters in length, 32 meters in beam, and 9.4 meters in depth…

The military and Coast Guard budgets are established that will benefit the U.S. ship building and repair sector, but what will stimulate the commercial yards?This author has been scratching his head of late, after a thrilling dive into July’s U.S. Big Beautiful Bill Act, and has asked several colleagues where the funding for support commercial shipbuilding can be found? To answer that, we need to look elsewhere and to future programs.Setting the SceneMany column inches have been dedicated to the decline U.S. shipbuilding, whether signaled by the relatively small presence of a U.S.

South Korea and the United States havehttps://www.marinelink.com/news/hanwha-build-usflagged-lng-carrier-528214 been discussing a shipbuilding tie-up that could include investments to modernize U.S. shipyards and more help to repair the U.S. naval fleet as Seoul seeks better tariff terms, government and industry sources said.U.S. President Donald Trump, who has made revitalizing the aging U.S. shipbuilding industry a priority to keep up with China, has repeatedly raised the idea…

President Donald Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' earmarks more than $8.6 billion to increase the U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker fleet in the Arctic, where Washington hopes to counter rising Russian and Chinese dominance.The funding includes $4.3 billion for up to three new heavy Coast Guard Polar Security Cutters, $3.5 billion for medium Arctic Security Cutters, and $816 million for procurement of additional light and medium icebreaking cutters.President Trump has been pushing to revive U.S. shipbuilding to counter China's growing strength in maritime manufacturing and naval dominance.

Equinor, the developer of Empire Wind, has launched the Service Operations Vessel ECO Liberty on June 28 for deployment in its New York offshore wind project. Louisiana First Lady Sharon Landry served as the vessel’s “Godmother” during a christening ceremony on the Mississippi River at the Port of New Orleans. Speakers at the event included Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry, along with leaders from Equinor and Edison Chouest Offshore. A proclamation signed by New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell declaring June 28 as ECO Liberty Day was presented during the ceremony.

▶ Medium-sized containerships to be built by 2028, supported by design, procurement, equipment, and strategic technology investmentHD Hyundai launched a strategic shipbuilding collaboration in the United States, signing with U.S.-based Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO) to establish a strategic and comprehensive partnership for the construction of U.S. commercial vessels.The signing ceremony was held on Friday, June 20, at ECO’s headquarters in New Orleans, Louisiana. The event was attended by Hannae Choi…

The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Storis (WAGB 21), the Coast Guard’s first polar icebreaker acquired in more than 25 years, has departed on its maiden voyage.The motor vessel Aiviq, acquired Dec. 20, 2024, from an Edison Chouest Offshore subsidiary, was renamed Storis following modifications to enhance communications and self-defense capabilities.The vessel will expand U.S. operational presence in the Arctic and support Coast Guard missions while the service awaits the delivery of…

In the last decade, changing U.S. Administrations have become increasingly tumultuous, as the swings in priorities and directives have a real, material impact on business. Read on for insights on the current and future of U.S. Offshore Wind.In the weeks preceding his late January inauguration, then President-elect Donald Trump referred to wind turbines (both onshore and offshore) as “garbage in a field” and described electric power produced through offshore wind as “…the most expensive energy ever…”In the same briefing…

The Coast Guard gets its first new polar icebreaker in more than 25 years.The Coast Guard has accepted its first new polar icebreaker in more than 25 years, but it’s not really new. The 12,900-ton, 360-foot Anchor Handling Tug Support Ship (AHTS) Aiviq was acquired by the Coast Guard and renamed USCGC Storis (WAGB 21).According to a Coast Guard statement, “On Nov. 20, the Coast Guard purchased the M/V Aiviq, a 360-foot U.S.-built polar class 3-equivalent icebreaker for $125 million in a deal with Offshore Surface Vessels LLC.

The Coast Guard announced it accepted ownership of the motor vessel Aiviq, a 360-foot polar class 3-equivalent icebreaker, from an Edison Chouest Offshore subsidiary Friday.The vessel, acquired Dec. 11, will enhance U.S. operational presence in the Arctic and support Coast Guard missions while awaiting delivery of the Polar Security Cutter (PSC) class.Upon commissioning, the ship will be renamed Coast Guard Cutter Storis (WAGB 21), marking the second cutter to bear that name. The original Storis, known as the “Galloping Ghost of the Alaskan Coast,” had a storied history conducting icebreaking operations in Alaska and the Arctic.“This acquisition is a vital step in increasing our operational presence in the Arctic,” said Adm. Linda Fagan, commandant of the Coast Guard.

Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO) affiliate C-Innovation (C-I) on Monday announced it has signed a new three-year contract with bp for field development, and inspection, maintenance and repair (IMR) work.The contract, which has options for two one-year extensions, is for the provision of two subsea construction vessels, C-Constructor and Holiday, and access to a fleet of specialized subsea and supply vessels. It also includes project management, engineering, equipment, logistics and port services.

Amidst sensational headlines and questionable policy decisions from Washington, D.C., the U.S. offshore energy sector stands resilient. This vital industry not only powers our nation with reliable energy but also enables hundreds of thousands of jobs across all 50 states and strengthens national security. From the Gulf of Mexico to the burgeoning offshore wind farms along the East Coast, the resilience and innovation of this sector are critical to driving economic growth and ensuring our nation’s energy security.The Gulf of Mexico has long been a cornerstone of U.S.

Early 2024 saw a group of financial deals that have implications, in a broad sense, for how offshore wind projects may be financed. While offshore wind projects might be thought of as being in the ‘utility finance’ basket, they are ultimately high-risk deals that might better suit the portfolios of ‘infrastructure investment’ which, in recent years, has taken a shift towards tolerating more uncertainty when it comes to cash flows.A 2022 article from consultants McKinsey, titled “Infrastructure investing will never be the same”…

A new feeder fleet of two tugs and two barges dedicated to serving a wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV) from Maersk Supply Service (MSS) has been ordered by Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO) to ABS class.The innovative system is designed to deliver components to the construction site, allowing the WTIV to remain on location, promising faster wind farm installations. The WTIV will also be ABS-classed.Designed to serve the U.S. offshore wind market, the novel articulated tug/barge…

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…

If nothing else, building vessels in the U.S. is a complicated business.In a session on the domestic shipbuilding marketplace, at Marine Money’s late-November 2023 conference held in New Orleans, Ben Bordelon, president and CEO of Bollinger Shipyards (with more than a dozen facilities, in Mississippi and Louisiana), described his company’s architecture as a “three-legged stool approach: commercial newbuilds, government newbuilds and repair/conversion capabilities”.On the same panel…

The U.S. Interior Department on Tuesday approved the country's eighth commercial-scale offshore wind project, which will be built off the coast of Massachusetts, bringing online electricity to power more than 900,000 homes.The approval for Avangrid’s New England Wind Project brings the U.S. one-third of the way to President Joe Biden's goal of permitting 30 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity by 2030—a key part of the president's climate change agenda.The project comes just a week after the Interior Department approved another offshore wind project, Orsted's Sunrise Wind, in New York.

Industry trade group the Offshore Marine Service Association (OMSA) announced the addition of four CEOs to its board of directors.The new board members include Wes Bordelon, Chief Executive Officer, Bordelon Marine; Stacy Jo Stanley, Chief Executive Officer, Offshore Oil Services, Inc.; David Dantin, Chief Executive Officer, Odyssea Marine; and Lasse Petterson, Chief Executive Officer, Great Lakes Dredge and Dock."With the addition of these four executive leaders, OMSA pays homage to its roots while welcoming expanded opportunities in emerging energy frontiers…