Alden J. “Doc” Laborde helped found the modern-day energy industry by creating one of the first submersible rigs and setting up two offshore companies that used the new technology.

After graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy and serving in World War II, Laborde went to work for Kerr-McGee Corp. in Morgan City. It was there that he became convinced that offshore drilling should be done from a movable unit. When Kerr-McGee refused to build such a rig, Laborde quit and set up Ocean Drilling and Exploration Co. with backing from Murphy Oil Co. The rig Laborde’s company gave birth to was named Mr. Charlie, in honor of the father of Murphy Oil’s Charles Murphy Jr.

In 1954, Mr. Charlie took on its first assignment: a series of small wells for Shell Oil.

The rig had drawn skepticism from offshore-industry professionals. Boats with industry scouts and competitors followed Mr. Charlie to observe its work on that first job. To Laborde’s relief, the rig performed with only a few glitches. And Mr. Charlie went on to drill hundreds of offshore wells over 32 years. The rig is now on permanent display in Morgan City at the International Petroleum Museum & Exposition.

Laborde went on to build several variations of Mr. Charlie. With his brother John, he eventually founded Tidewater Inc., which today operates a fleet of more than 300 vessels that work around the globe for the energy sector.

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Doc Laborde: The Times-Picayune covers 175 years of New Orleans history