Page 67: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (October 2005)

October 2005 67

A double punch of Hurricane Katrina and Rita dev- astated the Gulf of Mexico marine and offshore busi- nesses last month, with damage of varying degrees reaching from Alabama to Texas. Though the first and worst of the two storms, Hurricane Katrina, rampaged ashore in late August, one month later and damage — to individual businesses and the valuable offshore plat- forms and rigs — is still being assessed. The

November 2005 edition of Maritime Reporter &

Engineering News, as well as sister publications

Marine Technology Reporter and MarineNews, will feature detailed coverage of the lives and businesses destroyed, as well as a plan of action regarding the recovery, which is sure to take many years. Don

Sutherland, a regular contributor in the pages of

MarineNews, has been traversing the Gulf for nearly a month to document with photos and words the scope of the devastation, and his full report will be featured in

November. A sampling of the images are found on this page. In addtion, Maritime Reporter and MarineNews will publish the Gulf Maritime Resources Guide, a compilation of product and service providers that will be used by government and business to help start the long road to recovery. Listing in this directory is free, and companies can register for their listing at http://www.marinelink.com/weblisting/2005/directo- ry/add2dirSP.asp?IssueId=54.

For daily bulletins and updates, log onto www.marinelink.com, or sign up for daily e-mail news bulletins at www.maritimetoday.com.

Evacuation and Production Shut-in

Statistics Report as of Thursday, September 29, 2005

Platforms Evacuated 491

Rigs Evacuated 36

Oil, BOPD Shut-in 1,478,780

Gas, MMCF/D Shut-In 7,979.72

Source: Minerals Management Service (www.mms.gov)

Some boats in southern Louisiana rode-out the storm just fine.

Others, with the inexplicable randomness of Nature's handiwork, were tossed and tumbled and hurtled alongside. Some 80% of the boats of Plaquemines Parish were destroyed, according to

Parish President Benny Rousselle. (Photo: Don Sutherland.)

Charles Bondi, Chief of the Port Sulphur Volunteer Fire

Department, speaks with friends who came to look at their boat, in front of a pile of wreckage well inland near Empire, LA. (Photo:

Don Sutherland.)

Katrina's horrific surge lifted this drydock and carried it off, under the "twin bridges" of New Orleans (fortunately, without hitting), depositing it nearly two miles away, on the bank of Gretna - with the Rhea Bouchard still upright in it. (Photo: Don Sutherland.)

After the Storm(s)

Gulf of Mexico Regroups After Pounding by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

One of the things Katrina taught the nation was our dependency on gulf petroleum. Are we any less dependant on our gulf fisher- men? Unlike the oil companies, they can't just raise a few billion for repairs. (Photo: Don Sutherland.)

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