The charge against earnings in the period, comprised of costs incurred associated with an exit or disposal activity other than for a discontinued operations as defined under generally accepted accounting principles. Costs of such activities include those for one-time termination benefits, termination of an operating lease or other contract, consolidating or closing facilities, and relocating employees, and costs associated with an ongoing benefit arrangement, but excludes costs associated with the retirement of a long-lived asset.

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Pretax gain (loss), not previously recognized and resulting from the sale of a business component, which is recognized at the date of sale. A gain (loss) reflects the amount by which the consideration received exceeds (is exceeded by) the net carrying amount (reflecting previous provisions for loss on disposal, if any) of the disposal group.

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DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS AND OTHER ITEMS - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	12 Months Ended			1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended			3 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2009	Aug. 26, 2011 Atlantic Vessel	Sep. 30, 2010 Charter Fleet Business Vessel	Dec. 31, 2011 Charter Fleet Business	Dec. 31, 2010 Charter Fleet Business	Dec. 31, 2011 Charter Fleet Business Sale of the charter fleet business	Sep. 30, 2010 Secunda International Limited Vessel	Sep. 30, 2010 Fabrication Facility	Dec. 31, 2011 Fabrication Facility
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Number of vessels					10				14
Cash consideration received from sale of business								$ 22,000,000
Cash contribution from The Babcock & Wilcox Company		100,000,000
Cash consideration received from sale of marine vessel				8,000,000
Loss on disposal of discontinued operations, before taxes	(21,934,000)	(123,311,000)	(7,118,000)	7,700,000		(21,934,000)	(27,690,000)
Number of vessels sold				23
Costs to discontinue development plans for a new fabrication yard, including estimated lease termination costs										21,000,000
Reduced estimated closure costs											$ 10,000,000