Hornblower Marine Services Mississippi Project

In August of 2005 the Northern Gulf Coast was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. This devastation included several bridges, one of which was the Highway 90 bridge from Bay St. Louis to Pass Christian, Mississippi. The loss of this bridge was an additional devastating blow to these small communities as their economy relied on transit traffic. On top of that, the commute around the Bay became 35 miles or more depending where you needed to go. The rebuilding of the bridge was scheduled to take 2 ½ years.

In September of 2006 Hornblower Marine Services was contacted by the Mississippi Department of Transportation and asked to put together a temporary ferry service at this location and have it up and running by November 1. Hornblower's staff got to work. They performed a due diligence and it was determined the resources were available to meet this deadline. A contract was quickly put together, starting Hornblower's contribution to the Hurricane Katrina Relief Effort. This is where the fun starts.

Hornblower found a suitable vessel in Bayou La Batre, Alabama, which oddly enough was also a Katrina victim and in need of repairs and a Certificate of Inspection. Through the years Hornblower Marine Services has had a strong working relationship with the US Coast Guard and turned to them for some guidance. A meeting was held with the Inspections Department and commander to plot a course in receiving a Certificate of Inspection in 30 days. An acceptable plan was agreed upon and once again HMS got to work. Needless to say this turned out to be an extremely daunting task but they persevered.

The vessel arrived at Bay St. Louis the morning of October 31 where it was met by state and federal dignitaries including Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters. An inaugural celebration was conducted as well as the first trip along the route. HMS began operation to the public at 6:30 a.m. on November 1, 2006. The passengers were primarily local residents going to work in surrounding communities. The ride on the ferry was about 25 minutes and took just a little less time than driving around, but the gasoline savings for the passengers was significant. Since this was a free ferry there were no additional expenses incurred. The passengers also found it to be a nice break from the chaos of everyday life.

During our 200 day commitment we made 3,926 trips, carried 59,637 vehicles and 112,178 passengers. That is truly impressive for a 22 car ferry operating in a bay with a low tide of 5 feet of water and exposed to the elements of the southern Gulf of Mexico.

Hornblower is proud to have been a part of this effort and a part of the lives of these communities. HMS truly grew attached to the people of Bay St. Louis and Pass Christian and looked forward to their friendly faces each day.