As the Mississippi Gulf Coast marks 20 years since Hurricane Katrina made landfall on Aug. 29, 2005, HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division is recognizing the resilience demonstrated by its workforce and honoring those who played a key role in restoring operations after the storm.
Reflecting on the impact of the hurricane, the company is sharing new employee testimonials alongside photos and videos that document the workforce’s response to the storm. These personal reflections highlight the values that continue to define the company’s workforce and overall mission to deliver the world’s most powerful ships to the U.S. Navy.
“Katrina tested every part of our shipyard operations, but it also revealed the strength of our people and their unwavering commitment to building ships for our nation’s military,” Ingalls Shipbuilding President Brian Blanchette said. “The resilience demonstrated in the aftermath of the storm continues to guide us today, and has laid the foundation for everything we’ve achieved since.”
The storm’s impact was felt across the company’s Gulf Coast facilities at that time, from Avondale, Louisiana, to Pascagoula, Mississippi, In the days that followed, the company provided food, water, fuel and temporary housing for employees, while also continuing to pay its workforce throughout the recovery period.
Nearly 500 employees volunteered as storm riders, sheltering on-site to protect equipment and infrastructure. These individuals were the first to witness the destruction. However, hundreds more returned the following day to begin clearing debris, delivering supplies and restoring essential shipyard operations.
One of those employees, Marcus Richardson Sr., shares his experience in the company-produced video, along with fellow shipbuilders who reflect on the storm and the sense of community that emerged in its aftermath.
“Post-Katrina brought us great devastation and made Ingalls stronger,” Richardson said. “For shipbuilders to come into this shipyard and build these ships for the U.S. Navy after that kind of devastation and destruction, it showed that we could come together as a team. We are resilient.”
While most major equipment withstood the storm, flooding and hurricane-force winds left many buildings destroyed. Since then, HII has made significant investments in the infrastructure, facility and toolsets at Ingalls. The investments not only hardened the facility against potential future storms, they enabled the Ingalls workforce to improve product flow, process efficiency and enhance product quality in the 35 ships delivered since 2005.
