Hurricane Katrina: 2005-08-29 PSS Chemul was under renovation at the Bender Shipbuilding Yard Nine in Mobile Bay and the high waters of the storm surge took the unit off the leased barge, The Mobile Heavy Lifter, that was being used as its drydock. The PSS Chemul floated up the Mobil River and struck the Alabama State Port Authorities Bulk Material Handling Plant, seriously damaging a barge loader. "The barge loader is gone," the spokesman said. The docks agency was spending $10 million to expand the berth, which was planned to handle wood products and general cargo. The berth was scheduled to reopen within weeks, but the contact may have damaged the dock or its pilings. The barge loader alone was worth $4 million, and pier damage could cost millions more. The bulk plant and barge loader were just an appetizer for Chemul, which drifted farther north, scraping under the bridge before 1115 hrs. The contact with the 140-foot-high bridge roadway sheared off much of the top structure of the platform. The storm-surge swollen river pinned Chemul under the west side of the bridge for several hours. But about 1700 hrs, the barge began to slowly pinwheel, as the receding river allowed it come unpinned. As the storm surge began to subside, the unit drift freed, having expirenced major damage. |
