Number of Shares of Tidewater Common Stock Held by Plan (Detail) - shares	Mar. 31, 2016	Mar. 31, 2015
Defined Contribution Savings Plan 401k
Defined Contribution Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Number of shares of Tidewater common stock held by 401(k) plan	351,675	299,256

Number of common stock held in a trust that has been set up specifically to accumulate stock for the sole purpose of distribution to participating employees but not yet earned.

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 718
-SubTopic 40
-Section 25
-Paragraph 12
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6418455&loc=d3e16701-113920

Name:	us-gaap_CommonStockSharesHeldInEmployeeTrustShares
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:sharesItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant