Mr. Charlie, First Mobile Offshore Drilling Rig
The pioneering 1954 platform design that became a historical and mechanical engineering landmark.
The world’s first mobile offshore drilling unit (MODU) began in the mind of World War II Navy veteran Alden “Doc” Laborde, who believed a self-sufficient oil rig could be placed on a barge for deeper offshore drilling. Laborde applied his naval experience to design and build the first submersible offshore drilling rig.
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) in 2012 designated Mr. Charlie an ASME Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark. Today, Laborde’s offshore platform is a Louisiana museum and education center, a national historic landmark, and “glimpse into the past” for the offshore petroleum industry.
