2014-built vessel removes Gulf of America’s oldest tension leg platform

September 1, 2025, by Nadja Skopljak

C-Innovation, an affiliate of Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO), has completed the decommissioning of what it says is the oldest tension leg platform (TLP) in the Gulf of America.

The 2014-built multipurpose support vessel (MSV) Island Venture put its remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), cranes and back deck support services to work to decommission the Joliet TLP, originally installed in 1989 in 1,725 feet of water.

The vessel’s scope of work included the cutting of two flexible risers, which were then abandoned in a pre-determined area on the seafloor.

C-Innovation was also responsible for detaching 12 mooring tendons from the TLP, each over 1,700 feet long, which were cut into 305 separate sections aboard the vessel and then transferred to an offshore support vessel (OSV) for transport to a shore base for further processing.

The decommissioning operation was monitored by C-Innovation’s division C-Survey, in coordination with the Joliet TLP and its three positioning tugboats.

“The C-I team executed the project safely and efficiently, completing it ahead of schedule without any accidents or incidents. Our success was driven by strong offshore leadership, careful planning, a focus on safety and the lift capacity of the Island Venture crane,” said George Wilson, Project Manager at C-Innovation.

“The original agreement was for 26 days with extension options, which were exercised, bringing the total to 36 days. The contract was signed on January 15, 2025, work began on May 2, and the project was successfully completed on June 3, 2025.”