Document and Entity Information - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Feb. 15, 2019	Jun. 30, 2018
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-K
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2018
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2018
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Trading Symbol	TDW
Entity Registrant Name	TIDEWATER INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000098222
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Shell Company	false
Entity Small Business	true
Entity Emerging Growth Company	false
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		37,169,016
Entity Public Float			$ 754,530,649