Hurricane Ida first made landfall at Port Fourchon a port we know very well due to its connection to the SpaceX ships that have undergone there. The storm has been pounding the Louisiana and Mississippi coastlines for the past 24 hours.
Hurricane Ida will likely be one of the most damaging storms to hit the US coastline in recent years. It made landfall as a Category 4 Hurricane in Port Fourchon, Louisiana forcing many to evacuate to safer locations as flooding took over large parts of coastal communities.
Our hearts go out to those who have been impacted by the storm and those who currently still are. The American Red Cross has already begun accepting donations for those who would like to help in the recovery efforts.
SpaceX boats in the path of Hurricane
For those that have followed our coverage of A Shortfall of Gravitas‘ construction, Port Fourchon is no stranger. Since ASOG’s departure earlier this year, Fourchon has become home to the two next members to join the fleet, Bob and Doug.
These two large offshore supply ships underwent work in Houma before they moved to Port Fourchon for sea trials. The first of these ships to be refit, Doug, left Fourchon prior to the hurricane’s arrival and should be arriving in Port Canaveral later tonight.
SpaceX’s Bob on the other hand only recently arrived in Port Fourchon and is presumed not fit to make such a long trip to avoid Hurricane Ida, so SpaceX and the company managing the ship had to prepare it to take the full force of the storm.
Take the full force of the storm it did, as Ida made landfall directly over Port Fourchon and has caused large amounts of damage to the area. This left some concerned about the fate of the new ship until a video shared on social media show the ship’s current state.
The video taken from a vantage point overlooking the port shows the absolute devastation of Hurricane Ida. As it pans over the flooded and empty port, you can spot the white ship still surviving. It’s unknown how long the devastation of Hurricane Ida will delay SpaceX’s testing the deploying the ship Bob. These ships will take over the role of tug, crew support, and fairing recovery so having one in Florida already should hopefully be enough for the time being.
NOAA damage survey captures Bob
After every severe hurricane, NOAA conducts aerial surveys over the affected areas. The above pictures were taken on August 31st, just 2 days after Hurricane Ida made landfall in Port Fourchon. Here we can see a nice closeup of Bob as it is moored at the port. There is a gangway heading onto the ship which means crews have returned and are presumably checking for damage and continuing to work towards making Bob seaworthy.
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