A History of Innovation and Success

Gulf Island Shipyards Gets Sizable Navy Deal
May 16, 2018
Chabert dukes it out in Baton Rouge
May 16, 2018
Gulf Island Shipyards Gets Sizable Navy Deal
May 16, 2018
Chabert dukes it out in Baton Rouge
May 16, 2018

For Gulf Island, the company’s successes date back to the 1940s.

The company, Gulf Island Fabrication Inc., was founded in 1985, but its roots were planted in 1947 when Alden J. “Doc” Laborde worked on the very first offshore oil and gas well in the Gulf of Mexico.

In 1985, Laborde was still active in the oil and gas industry. At that time, the oil and gas industry was in a prolonged slump – similar to what we’ve seen locally over the past few years.


But Laborde took advantage of an opportunity which presented itself, purchasing a fabrication facility in Louisiana that had gone under in the downturn. This was the start of Gulf Island Fabrication, Inc., which was created in an effort to build more offshore drilling platforms in Louisiana.

It worked.

The economy in the 1980s gradually worked back to normal and as it did, Gulf Island Fabrication continued to grow.


In 1987, the company acquired Raymond Fabrications Yard.

In 1997, Gulf Island went public, while also purchasing Dolphin Services, Steel Sales and Southport.

Additions have continued throughout the past several years for Gulf Island, including in 2006 when the company purchased Gulf Marine Fabricators.


In 2008, the company branched out even further, launching Gulf Island Fabricators. In 2016, the company acquired Leevac Shipyards.

“After years of sustained growth, we went public in 1997 and we quickly established ourselves as an offshore and onshore leader,” a historical overview on Gulf Island’s website reads. “Today, we proudly possess the largest fabrication capacity in the U.S.” •