ING 4727
Encyclopedia
ING 4727 was a barge
belonging to Ingram Barge Company
that became infamous when it went over or through a levee
and landed in a residential neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana
during Hurricane Katrina
.
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).
, 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.
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. The LSU report subsequently found that overtopping did not occur, rather, design failures precipited the levee failures.
By late 2007, several investigations were completed that included analysis of the question of whether the barge had a causative role in one or more of the failures in the floodwalls atop the Industrial Canal levees, or whether it came into the city from an already-existing breach. The investigators funded by the National Science Foundation—from the University of California at Berkeley—concluded that the barge went through an already-existing breach caused by foundation failure of the floodwall. Another group of investigators, funded by the State of Louisiana, came to the same conclusion. Finally, a $20 million study, funded by the Department of Defense/United States Army Corps of Engineers, blamed the Industrial Canal levee failures on overtopping of the floodwalls by the storm surge and resulting scour and undermining of the foundation -- not the barge.
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, although all the scientists and engineers who investigated the failures regard such speculation as dubious and without any evidentiary basis.
, 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 2006, 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 were under court order to be preserved as evidence in pending lawsuits, although that order has been modified to allow for the disposal of all remaining portions of the barge . Removal of the pieces of the barge from the Lower 9th Ward was completed the third week of March, 2006.
On 4 June 2007, a Federal trial looking into possible liability of Ingram and other parties for damage from the barge began in New Orleans.
On March 31, 2008, Judge Helen Berrigan, Chief Judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, issued an Opinion that exonerated the barge owner, Ingram Barge Company, from any liability for the ING 4727 breaking free of its moorings during or after Hurricane Katrina passed through the New Orleans area.
Barge
A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats...
belonging to Ingram Barge Company
Ingram Barge Company
The Ingram Barge Company is a barge company based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States.According to the company website, Ingram operates nearly 4,000 barges with a fleet of over 80 linehaul vessels and over 30 tug boats...
that became infamous when it went over or through a levee
Levee
A levee, levée, dike , embankment, floodbank or stopbank is an elongated naturally occurring ridge or artificially constructed fill or wall, which regulates water levels...
and landed in a residential neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
during Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
.
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 fiberglassFiberglass
Glass fiber is a material consisting of numerous extremely fine fibers of glass.Glassmakers throughout history have experimented with glass fibers, but mass manufacture of glass fiber was only made possible with the invention of finer machine tooling...
covers atop the hopper add another approximately 5 feet (1.5 m) of height. The cargo hopper yields 84659 cubes
Unit cube
A unit cube, sometimes called a cube of side 1, is a cube whose sides are 1 unit long. The volume of a 3-dimensional unit cube is 1 cubic unit, and its total surface area is 6 square units.- Unit Hypercube :...
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 cementCement
In the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. The word "cement" traces to the Romans, who used the term opus caementicium to describe masonry resembling modern concrete that was made from crushed...
, and was reportedly empty just before the storm. ING 4727 was reportedly in the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet Canal
Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet Canal
The Mississippi River – Gulf Outlet Canal is a channel constructed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers in the mid-20th century that provided a shorter route between the Gulf of Mexico and New Orleans' inner harbor Industrial Canal via the Intracoastal Waterway...
in New Orleans when the storm hit. Evidently not secured adequately for hurricane conditions, the barge found its way into the Industrial Canal
Industrial Canal
The Industrial Canal is a 5.5 mile waterway in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. The waterway's proper name, as used by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and on NOAA nautical charts, is Inner Harbor Navigation 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
Mississippi River System
The Mississippi River System, also referred to as the Western Rivers, is a mostly riverine network which includes the Mississippi River and connecting waterways....
(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. Some lawyers have blamed the barge, including its owners and the cement terminal that had moored the barge and which had the barge in its care, custody, and control at the time of the hurricane.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. The LSU report subsequently found that overtopping did not occur, rather, design failures precipited the levee failures.
By late 2007, several investigations were completed that included analysis of the question of whether the barge had a causative role in one or more of the failures in the floodwalls atop the Industrial Canal levees, or whether it came into the city from an already-existing breach. The investigators funded by the National Science Foundation—from the University of California at Berkeley—concluded that the barge went through an already-existing breach caused by foundation failure of the floodwall. Another group of investigators, funded by the State of Louisiana, came to the same conclusion. Finally, a $20 million study, funded by the Department of Defense/United States Army Corps of Engineers, blamed the Industrial Canal levee failures on overtopping of the floodwalls by the storm surge and resulting scour and undermining of the foundation -- not the barge.
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, although all the scientists and engineers who investigated the failures regard such speculation as dubious and without any evidentiary basis.
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 RitaHurricane Rita
Hurricane Rita was the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded and the most intense tropical cyclone ever observed in the Gulf of Mexico. Rita caused $11.3 billion in damage on the U.S. Gulf Coast in September 2005...
, 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
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
for those interested in the devastation.
On 22 February 2006, 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 were under court order to be preserved as evidence in pending lawsuits, although that order has been modified to allow for the disposal of all remaining portions of the barge . Removal of the pieces of the barge from the Lower 9th Ward was completed the third week of March, 2006.
On 4 June 2007, a Federal trial looking into possible liability of Ingram and other parties for damage from the barge began in New Orleans.
On March 31, 2008, Judge Helen Berrigan, Chief Judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, issued an Opinion that exonerated the barge owner, Ingram Barge Company, from any liability for the ING 4727 breaking free of its moorings during or after Hurricane Katrina passed through the New Orleans area.
See also
- Effect of Hurricane Katrina on New OrleansEffect of Hurricane Katrina on New OrleansThe effects of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans have been long-lasting. As the center of Katrina passed South-east of New Orleans on August 29, 2005, winds downtown were in the Category 3 range with frequent intense gusts and tidal surge. Hurricane force winds were experienced throughout the...
- Levee failures in Greater New Orleans, 2005Levee failures in Greater New Orleans, 2005In 29 August 2005 there were over 50 failures of the levees and flood walls protecting New Orleans, Louisiana, and its suburbs following passage of Hurricane Katrina and landfall in Mississippi. The levee and flood wall failures caused flooding in 80% of New Orleans and all of St. Bernard Parish...