Bordelon and Chouest Acquire Bollinger Shipyards

Ben Bordelon, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Bollinger Shipyards

Bollinger Shipyards has announced today that Ben Bordelon will assume the duties of Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of the company.

Ben Bordelon, along with the Chouest family from Galliano, LA, has acquired all assets and stock of Bollinger Shipyards, Inc.

Bordelon has served in many capacities during his career at Bollinger, and has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2002. He has served as Executive Vice President of Repair and most recently as Chief Operating Officer of Bollinger Shipyards.

Donald G. Bollinger founded the shipyard in 1946 as Bollinger Machine Shop & Shipyard, Inc. and he served as Chairman until 1985. Mr. Donald’s son, Boysie Bollinger, served as Chairman from 1985.  Boysie Bollinger’s son, Chris Bollinger, also served on the Board of Directors during his employment at Bollinger. As the founder’s grandson, Ben Bordelon transitions Bollinger Shipyards to its third generation, as the new leadership of Bollinger Shipyards.

Bollinger Shipyards designs and builds offshore oil field support vessels, ocean-going double hull barges, tug boats, rigs, liftboats, inland waterways push boats and barges, fast military patrol boats and other steel and aluminum products at its 10 strategically located shipyards situated between New Orleans and Houston with direct access to the Gulf of Mexico, Mississippi River and the Intracoastal Waterway. Bollinger is the largest vessel repair company in the Gulf of Mexico region with a total of 30 dry-docks, ranging in sizes from 400 tons to 10,500 tons, in Louisiana and Texas.

Since 1985, Bollinger Shipyards has delivered more than 138 patrol boats to the U.S. Coast Guard and Navy. Currently, the company is contracted to build a total of 30 ‘Sentinel’ class Fast Response Cutters for the Coast Guard worth a total contract value of $1.4 billion.

Established in Galliano, Louisiana in 1960, Edison Chouest Offshore operates a fleet of over 200 vessels primarily in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, but also worldwide. The majority of ECO vessels are designed, engineered and built at Chouest-affiliated shipyards, which include North American Shipbuilding in Larose, LA, LaShip in Houma, LA, Gulf Ship in Gulfport, MS, Tampa Ship in Tampa Bay, FL, and Navship in Brazil. The company also has expansive facilities at Port Fourchon, Louisiana. Edison Chouest Offshore remains a family-owned business.

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