First CIDS being built for Arctic offshore drilling

The Concrete Island Drilling System (CIDS) was specifically developed for the artic as a technically viable and cost-effective alternative to gravel islands. It consists of either one or two reinforced concrete honeycomb modules called bricks, two steel deck storage barges which are positioned on top of the bricks and contain the drilling unit and crew quarters, and an optional steel mud base that acts as a base mat and flotation unit for the entire assembly. The CIDS modules are constructed in various shipyards, assembled in the ocean near one shipyard, towed to the operational site, and ballasted onto the seabed using seawater. Since each module is a complete towable vessel, an alternate assembly approach is to tow the modules individually to the installation site and vertically assemble or ''stack'' the modules on site.