Calcasieu Waterway Open With Restrictions One Week After Hurricane Delta

Hurricane Delta made landfall October 9 near Creole, La., on the southwestern coast of the state, as a Category 2 hurricane with 100 mph. winds. The storm made landfall just west of Cameron, La., where Category 4 Hurricane Laura made landfall just over a month prior.

A week after the storm, waterways in the area had largely returned to normal operations, with the exception of the Port of Lake Charles and the Calcasieu Ship Channel, which remained in port condition RECOVERY due to debris and obstructions.

According to Marine Safety Information Bulletin (MSIB) 42-20, dated October 14, both an offshore oil rig and a sunken rock barge were blocking the ship channel, with the rig located near buoy 22 and the barge near buoy 37.

“Survey operations continue to look for debris and hazards to navigation,” according to MSIB 42-20. “Many offshore aids to navigation are off station.”

With those obstructions in place Marine Safety Unit (MSU) Lake Charles was restricting navigation in the Calcasieu Ship Channel for vessels with drafts of 25 feet and up. The channel inside light 48 was open to both daytime and evening movements for vessels with drafts less than 25 feet. Beyond light 48, the channel was restricted to daylight hours only.

Westward on the Sabine-Neches Waterway, operations had returned to normal. In addition, the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway throughout the area, along with Calcasieu Lock, Black Bayou Bridge and Grand Lake Bridge were operating normally, with the queue through Calcasieu Lock cleared.

Updates will be posted on Homeport and through future broadcast notices.