Commitments And Contingencies And Other Matters	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2017
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]
Commitments And Contingencies And Other Matters	Commitments and Contingencies and Other Matters Commitments We have charter agreements for the Grand Canyon, Grand Canyon II and Grand Canyon III vessels for use in our robotics operations. In February 2016, we amended the charter agreements to reduce the charter rates and, in connection with these reductions, to extend the terms to October 2019 for the Grand Canyon, to April 2021 for the Grand Canyon II and to May 2023 for the Grand Canyon III. We also have a charter agreement for the Deep Cygnus that expires in March 2018. In September 2013, we executed a contract with the same shipyard in Singapore that constructed the Q5000. This contract is for the construction of a newbuild semi-submersible well intervention vessel, the Q7000, which is being built to North Sea standards. This $346.0 million shipyard contract represents the majority of the expected costs associated with the construction of the Q7000. Pursuant to the original contract and subsequent amendments, 20% of the contract price was paid upon the signing of the contract in 2013, 20% was paid in 2016, 20% is to be paid upon issuance of the Completion Certificate, which is to be issued on or before December 31, 2017, and 40% is to be paid upon the delivery of the vessel, which at our option can be deferred until December 30, 2018. We agreed to pay the shipyard incremental costs in connection with the contract amendments to extend the scheduled delivery of the Q7000 and to defer certain payment obligations. Incremental costs are capitalized as they are incurred during the construction of the vessel. At March 31, 2017, our total investment in the Q7000 was $199.5 million, including $138.4 million of installment payments to the shipyard. In February 2014, we entered into agreements with Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (“Petrobras”) to provide well intervention services offshore Brazil, and in connection with the Petrobras agreements, we entered into charter agreements with Siem Offshore AS (“Siem”) for two newbuild monohull vessels, the Siem Helix 1 and the Siem Helix 2. The initial term of the charter agreements with Siem is for seven years from the respective vessel delivery dates with options to extend. The initial term of the agreements with Petrobras is for four years with Petrobras’s options to extend. As part of Petrobras’s efforts to reduce its costs structure with many of its suppliers, we and Petrobras began discussions in mid-2015 with respect to potentially amending our contracts in a manner that addressed Petrobras’s objectives and was acceptable to us as well. Those negotiations were finalized in early June 2016 such that the contracts for the Siem Helix 1, originally scheduled to begin no later than July 22, 2016, were amended to commence between July 22, 2016 and October 21, 2016, with the day rate reduced to a mutually acceptable level, and the contracts for the Siem Helix 2, originally scheduled to begin no later than January 21, 2017, were amended to commence between October 1, 2017 and December 31, 2017, with no change in the day rate. The Siem Helix 1 vessel was delivered to us and the charter term began on June 14, 2016 and after integration of our topside equipment onboard transited to Brazil. After a prolonged inspection and acceptance process, the vessel was accepted by Petrobras and commenced operations on April 14, 2017. We have agreed with Petrobras to commence operations at reduced day rates as we work through certain items identified in the vessel acceptance process. The Siem Helix 2 was delivered to us and the charter term began on February 10, 2017. We are currently integrating and commissioning our topside equipment onboard the vessel, and we anticipate that the vessel will commence operations for Petrobras late in the fourth quarter of 2017. At March 31, 2017, our total investment in the topside equipment for the two vessels was $247.8 million. Contingencies and Claims We believe that there are currently no contingencies that would have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows. Litigation On July 31, 2015, a purported stockholder, Parviz Izadjoo, filed a class action lawsuit styled Parviz Izadjoo v. Owen Kratz and Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. against the Company and Mr. Kratz, our President and Chief Executive Officer, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas on behalf of a putative class of all purchasers of shares of our common stock between October 21, 2014, and July 21, 2015, inclusive (the “Class Period”). The lawsuit asserted violations of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) and SEC Rule 10b-5 as to both us and Mr. Kratz, and Section 20(a) of the Exchange Act against Mr. Kratz, based on alleged misrepresentations and omissions in SEC filings and other public disclosures regarding projections for 2015 dry docks of two of our vessels working in the Gulf of Mexico that allegedly caused the price at which putative class members bought stock during the proposed class period to be artificially inflated. On January 28, 2016, the judge in the case approved a motion for the appointment of lead plaintiff and lead counsel. On March 14, 2016, the plaintiffs filed an amended class action complaint, adding Mr. Tripodo (our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer) and Mr. Chamblee (our former Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer) as individual defendants, alleging the same types of claims made in the original complaint (alleged violations during the Class Period of Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and SEC Rule 10b-5 with respect to all defendants, and Section 20(a) of the Exchange Act against the individual defendants), but asserting that the alleged misrepresentations and omissions in SEC filings and other public disclosures are related to the condition of and repairs to certain equipment aboard the Q4000 vessel. The defendants filed a motion to dismiss on April 28, 2016, and on February 14, 2017, the defendants’ motion to dismiss the complaint was granted. The dismissal was without prejudice, with leave for plaintiff to amend the complaint by no later than March 17, 2017. The plaintiff did not amend the complaint by that deadline. We are involved in various other legal proceedings, some involving claims for personal injury under the General Maritime Laws of the United States and the Jones Act based on alleged negligence. In addition, from time to time we incur other claims, such as contract disputes, in the normal course of business.

Commitments and Contingencies and Other Matters

Commitments

We have charter agreements for the Grand Canyon, Grand Canyon II and Grand Canyon III vessels for use in our robotics operations. In February 2016, we amended the charter agreements to reduce the charter rates and, in connection with these reductions, to extend the terms to October 2019 for the Grand Canyon, to April 2021 for the Grand Canyon II and to May 2023 for the Grand Canyon III. We also have a charter agreement for the Deep Cygnus that expires in March 2018.

In September 2013, we executed a contract with the same shipyard in Singapore that constructed the Q5000. This contract is for the construction of a newbuild semi-submersible well intervention vessel, the Q7000, which is being built to North Sea standards. This $346.0 million shipyard contract represents the majority of the expected costs associated with the construction of the Q7000. Pursuant to the original contract and subsequent amendments, 20% of the contract price was paid upon the signing of the contract in 2013, 20% was paid in 2016, 20% is to be paid upon issuance of the Completion Certificate, which is to be issued on or before December 31, 2017, and 40% is to be paid upon the delivery of the vessel, which at our option can be deferred until December 30, 2018. We agreed to pay the shipyard incremental costs in connection with the contract amendments to extend the scheduled delivery of the Q7000 and to defer certain payment obligations. Incremental costs are capitalized as they are incurred during the construction of the vessel. At March 31, 2017, our total investment in the Q7000 was $199.5 million, including $138.4 million of installment payments to the shipyard.

In February 2014, we entered into agreements with Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (“Petrobras”) to provide well intervention services offshore Brazil, and in connection with the Petrobras agreements, we entered into charter agreements with Siem Offshore AS (“Siem”) for two newbuild monohull vessels, the Siem Helix 1 and the Siem Helix 2. The initial term of the charter agreements with Siem is for seven years from the respective vessel delivery dates with options to extend. The initial term of the agreements with Petrobras is for four years with Petrobras’s options to extend. As part of Petrobras’s efforts to reduce its costs structure with many of its suppliers, we and Petrobras began discussions in mid-2015 with respect to potentially amending our contracts in a manner that addressed Petrobras’s objectives and was acceptable to us as well. Those negotiations were finalized in early June 2016 such that the contracts for the Siem Helix 1, originally scheduled to begin no later than July 22, 2016, were amended to commence between July 22, 2016 and October 21, 2016, with the day rate reduced to a mutually acceptable level, and the contracts for the Siem Helix 2, originally scheduled to begin no later than January 21, 2017, were amended to commence between October 1, 2017 and December 31, 2017, with no change in the day rate.

The Siem Helix 1 vessel was delivered to us and the charter term began on June 14, 2016 and after integration of our topside equipment onboard transited to Brazil. After a prolonged inspection and acceptance process, the vessel was accepted by Petrobras and commenced operations on April 14, 2017. We have agreed with Petrobras to commence operations at reduced day rates as we work through certain items identified in the vessel acceptance process. The Siem Helix 2 was delivered to us and the charter term began on February 10, 2017. We are currently integrating and commissioning our topside equipment onboard the vessel, and we anticipate that the vessel will commence operations for Petrobras late in the fourth quarter of 2017. At March 31, 2017, our total investment in the topside equipment for the two vessels was $247.8 million.

Contingencies and Claims

We believe that there are currently no contingencies that would have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

Litigation

On July 31, 2015, a purported stockholder, Parviz Izadjoo, filed a class action lawsuit styled Parviz Izadjoo v. Owen Kratz and Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. against the Company and Mr. Kratz, our President and Chief Executive Officer, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas on behalf of a putative class of all purchasers of shares of our common stock between October 21, 2014, and July 21, 2015, inclusive (the “Class Period”). The lawsuit asserted violations of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) and SEC Rule 10b-5 as to both us and Mr. Kratz, and Section 20(a) of the Exchange Act against Mr. Kratz, based on alleged misrepresentations and omissions in SEC filings and other public disclosures regarding projections for 2015 dry docks of two of our vessels working in the Gulf of Mexico that allegedly caused the price at which putative class members bought stock during the proposed class period to be artificially inflated. On January 28, 2016, the judge in the case approved a motion for the appointment of lead plaintiff and lead counsel. On March 14, 2016, the plaintiffs filed an amended class action complaint, adding Mr. Tripodo (our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer) and Mr. Chamblee (our former Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer) as individual defendants, alleging the same types of claims made in the original complaint (alleged violations during the Class Period of Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and SEC Rule 10b-5 with respect to all defendants, and Section 20(a) of the Exchange Act against the individual defendants), but asserting that the alleged misrepresentations and omissions in SEC filings and other public disclosures are related to the condition of and repairs to certain equipment aboard the Q4000 vessel. The defendants filed a motion to dismiss on April 28, 2016, and on February 14, 2017, the defendants’ motion to dismiss the complaint was granted. The dismissal was without prejudice, with leave for plaintiff to amend the complaint by no later than March 17, 2017. The plaintiff did not amend the complaint by that deadline.

We are involved in various other legal proceedings, some involving claims for personal injury under the General Maritime Laws of the United States and the Jones Act based on alleged negligence. In addition, from time to time we incur other claims, such as contract disputes, in the normal course of business.