ING 4727
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ING 4727 is a barge belonging to Ingram Barge Company that became infamous when it went through through a levee and landed in a residential neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana during Hurricane Katrina.
Background and specifications
ING 4727 was built in 1990. It is a dry cargo cover-top barge with a steel hull. It has an overall length of 200 feet (61 m), a beam of 35 feet (10.7 m) and a height of 12 feet (3.7 m), plus a coaming height of approximately 4 feet (1.2 m) above the deck. The fiberglass covers atop the hopper add another approximately 5 feet (1.5 m) of height. The cargo hopper yields 84659 cubes of volume. Fully loaded to a draft of 10 feet (3 m), the barge can carry 1877 tons of cargo. Light (empty) draft is 1 foot 4 & 1/2 inches (0.4 m).ING 4727 and Hurricane Katrina
Shortly before Katrina, ING 4727 was under charter by Lafarge North America, having recently delivered a load of cement, and was reportedly empty just before the storm. ING 4727 was reportedly in the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet Canal in New Orleans when the storm hit. Evidently not secured adequately for hurricane conditions, the barge found its way into the Industrial Canal (also known as the Inner Harbor Navigational Canal) where it went through (or caused -- see below) a breach into the Lower 9th Ward neighborhood.
While many other vessels in southeast Louisiana broke their moorings during the storm, ING 4727 became particularly notable both due to its size and because of where it landed. Although its dimensions are standard for barges in commerce on the Mississippi River System (of which the Industrial Canal is a part), it is larger than most houses. During and right after the storm, ING 4727 was moved around by currents in the flooded neighborhood, smashing houses and cars beneath it in an area of several city blocks.
Speculation on the barge's role
Many locals blame the barge for the catastrophic inundation of the area. As of February 2006, investigations continue on the question of whether the barge had a role in one or more of the failures in the floodwalls atop the Industrial Canal levees from slamming into them, or whether it came into the city from an already-existing breach.A week after the storm Army Corps of Engineers project manager Al Naomi gave his preliminary impression, saying, "One would think it's the barge that did it," and confirming that the barge striking the floodwalls would have "precipitated a tremendous collapse". However, in the preliminary report presented to Congress, experts say that the barge was drawn through an existing hole in the floodwall, and that it was the topping of the Industrial Canal floodwall, not the barge, that caused the break.
There is also speculation that the barge may have caused the other nearby breaches in the Industrial Canal by striking the floodwalls on the other side before bouncing back and going all the way through the levee near the end of Prieur Street.
After Katrina
As the Lower 9th Ward was dewatered, ING 4727 at first came to rest atop a number of house sites on the east side of Jourdan Avenue. Hurricane Rita, however, subsequently raised the water level in the Industrial Canal sufficiently to top the still-incomplete levee repairs, reflooding the area and refloating the barge.As waters were again drained from the area, the barge came to rest a few dozen yards from its earlier location, diagonally across Jourdan Avenue near the intersection of North Roman Street, partially atop former homes and a school bus.
In the months after Katrina, the barge became a morbid tourist attraction for those interested in the devastation.
On 22 February, salvage work began which lifted the barge approximately 4 feet (1.2 m) into the air using inflatable bags so that the bottom of the vessel could be inspected for damage, and on 24 February Titan Maritime began the process of cutting up and removing it from the area. A number of pieces are under court order to be preserved as evidence in pending lawsuits. Removal of the pieces of the barge from the Lower 9th Ward was completed the third week of March, 2006.
See also
- Effect of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans
- Levee failures in Greater New Orleans, 2005
- Alternative theories regarding Hurricane Katrina
Notes
External links
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