Shortly after, Devall and his father, Mike, were driving around the Ellender Bridge, near the company’s west fleet, even when they noticed a tugboat and spud barge moored at the foot of the bridge.

“Given my experience with Hurricane Harvey, I told Dad,’ These guys are in a wrong place and need to join us. No way they survive there,”’ Devall recalled.

The business agreed and proceeded their vessel and spud barge into Devall’s west fleet.

“Bringing together their spud barge, we could add more security to our designated safe zone that ended harboring 12 ships,” Devall said.

Devall said the outer bands of Laura began to affect his team about 10 p.m. August 27. By one the next morning, Devall said, “The end speeds and noises were indescribable.”

“One of our vessels clocked wind speeds of 150 mph.,” he explained. “As the boats were tossed back and forth, it seemed like the storm would never pass over. And then everything calmed. The eye of Laura was passing, and for about 45 minutes, we had an opportunity to catch our breath, count our blessings and prepare for round two.”

Making it through round one of the storm, Devall said, gave them hope they would weather the second half.

Crews watched as a warehouse was ripped apart by the storm; however, the vessels and barges stood mighty. What is more, the vast majority of Laura’s storm surge went east, sparing ships and barges in the region.

“As we started to pick up about our ships and conduct fleet tests, we realized that all of the preparations that were made had paid off,” Devall said. “We didn’t have any gear casualties or injuries. We did lose our office, but we were thankful that has been the only thing we dropped.”

Around mid-morning on August 28, Devall said his crew members indeed transferred him with their concern to the surrounding neighborhood.

“Our boat crews appeared at us and said, ‘What do we do to help? ”’ Devall recalled. “They loaded up in automobiles, and for the upcoming several days, we had guys covering roofs, cleaning debris, and offering their hearts to our community.

“I had one team member say,’ Sir, I lost everything. My fiancé is secure, and all I have is the ship. What can I do to help?” Devall said. “This has been the considerate goals of our employees. During the upcoming few days, we had teams working with local industry to give aid at the Calcasieu Locks, remove a power line off the Intracoastal Waterway, assist with retrieving sunken vessels, and at one point help local friends in the industry feed an estimated 6,000 people in our community.”

Hurricane Delta

Unexpectedly, just 45 days after, Hurricane Delta, a Category 2 storm, made landfall close to the same location. This time, Devall crews ensured 135 barges, again hunkering down to ride the storm out. But, Devall stated, this time, there was no break for the eye to pass over.

“We stayed in the western eye wall for several hours,” he said, noting that wind gusts of 139 mph. They were listed in Orange, Texas, with a Devall fleet vessel recording 125 mph winds.

Devall reported the actions and dedication of the Devall Towing team through hurricanes Laura and Delta illustrated the organization’s motto, “Faith, Family, and Service.”

“Our shoreside team went beyond the call of duty, working tirelessly, understanding that their homes were destroyed or damaged, always keen to help in any way without complaint,” Devall said. “Thanks to our afloat employees for the courage to weather the storms, answering the question of why can you ride out major hurricanes on a ship?’ Answered,’ That’s who we are and what we do! ”’

With the downed power lines and bridges across the GIWW closed to marine traffic after Laura, a significant queue developed on the waterway. However, drawing on expertise in the Calcasieu Lock guide wall replacement project, Corps officials and industry leaders were able to reduce the queue efficiently in the days following the storm.

The last significant storm of the season happened on October 28 using Hurricane Zeta, which made landfall near Cocodrie, La., as a strong Category 2 storm. The fast-moving storm brought damage and power outages well-intentioned, although waterway impacts were minimal.

Remarkably, lots of the storms affecting the Gulf Coast took place together with all the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal (IHNC) Lock shut for repairs. IHNC is the only real connection point on the east bank of the Mississippi River between the western and eastern stretches of the GIWW. 

The U.S. Coast Guard and the Corps of Engineers, as in 2016, implemented another route across the Chandeleur Sound between Baptiste Collette Bayou on the Mississippi River near Venice, La., and Gulfport, Miss. Even though the Coast Guard and Corps had to survey and reset aids to navigation (ATONs) across the alternative route following passing storms, industry and federal agencies’ collaboration allowed navigation to continue.