Lloyd Charpentier began his career on the water in the 1950's when he went to work on his uncle's fishing boat. He then operated a crewboat for Phillips 66 when the company was laying a pipeline to a Eugene Island field. He left the Gulf of Mexico to serve in the army from 1961 to 1963 and returned to the oilfield as a deckhand/engineer for Tidewater. He advanced to captain within six months and then moved from crew boats to supply vessels the following year. He worked in the Gulf of Mexico, Alaska, South America, and Trinidad until 1973 when he moved into a staff position overseeing vessel repair and maintenance.