CS Marine brings coastal engineering, skilled problem-solving to Sealaska portfolio
Monday, June 1, 2020

Acquisition advances corporation’s work to build strong teams and ocean health.

CS Marine Constructors, Inc., brings an ideal set of values and capabilities to Sealaska’s broad effort to improve ocean health and build a culture of respect, transparency, focus and drive.

The Vallejo, California-based marine-construction company is well-positioned to help Sealaska address the inevitable consequences of climate change up and down the West Coast. Its skill with safely delivering construction work on and under water – whether it’s pouring concrete, repairing piers and wharves, drilling, welding, or recovering machinery from the murky depths – will be increasingly important as sea levels rise and old-energy infrastructure requires mitigation and removal.

Sealaska Vice President Dave Aldrich is an accomplished geophysicist who is helping the company build its ocean-sciences business. Aldrich said CS Marine is a strong addition and excellent fit with Sealaska’s government and commercial groups, including Gregg Drilling.

“They’re who people go to when they have difficult problems to solve,” he said. “They’re all about coastal engineering and design-build. They’re great problem solvers.”

CS Marine’s jobs can involve anything from safely removing unexploded ordnance from the seafloor to mitigating dangers associated with abandoned offshore oil platforms. The company recently completed a challenging task to pull new pipe through two miles of existing underwater pipe off the coast of Southern California. In January, it retrieved a 66-foot tugboat that had sunk to the bottom of San Francisco Bay, while managing to contain all the oil in its tanks to avoid contaminating the water.

“It’s just a really interesting company,” Aldrich said. “They do a lot of unique things. They’re quiet about what they do, but they have an amazing resume.”

CS Marine has been a family endeavor for 40 years. Founder Chuck Stockon founded the business in 1978 and his son, Casey, became CEO in the mid 1990’s. Other family members are also involved in the business. The Stockons have created an environment of integrity and care that inspires employees and customers.

“You have to do the right thing,” Casey Stockon said. “That includes safety of employees, environmental safety, quality of work. If you make your decisions not on money but on right or wrong, it’s pretty clear.”

This addition to Sealaska’s portfolio expands its capacity to execute on ocean cleanup work and contribute to creating renewable energy sources, such as ocean-based wind turbines.

Building these capabilities, with this kind of leadership, aligns well with Sealaska’s values and vision to support future generations, said COO Terry Downes.

“We are building an environment in which people can contribute and flourish,” Downes said. “We’re focused on hard work, treating people well and solving problems. CS Marine is a great fit and will help speed our progress.”

More background on CS Marine can be found here and here.

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