June 1st marks the start of hurricane season and Ingalls Shipbuilding is busy making preparations to keep shipbuilders and the shipyard safe from threats.
Leadership from each department met this week to discuss the shipyard’s heavy weather plan in the event the Gulf Coast is threatened by tropical activity.
According to Chris Helton, director of Facilities, preparations begin long before a storm develops and continues every time a new storm forms.
“We’ll evaluate every system that could be tropical as it comes off the coast of Africa or even starts up in the Gulf of Mexico if we believe it’s going to have a potential impact on our business,” said Helton.
At the site, protecting the ships is one of the biggest priorities.
“We ensure that the ships are moored to a heavy weather mooring plan that maximizes against the conditions we expect to see. That includes tidal surge, as well as the wind impact,” said Helton. “We’ll also ensure we close all openings, all scuttles and hatches, and remove excess material or any barges or scaffolding that could be around the ship that could cause a potential danger to the ship.”
While many shipbuilders do not report to work in advance of an approaching hurricane, there is a select group that does stay behind in the event of a storm.
‘‘We will always have what we call storm riders here at the shipyard and, due to the nature of our business, we will always have teams aboard the ships to ensure that the ships are being taken care of, manned, and that dewatering pumps are available across all vessels that are in the water,” explained Helton.
“We also have a small core team of individuals at the facility itself to ensure that we can help bring the facility back up and make way for people to come into the facility once the storm has passed.”
“Safety is important, not only as the storm approaches, but also once it passes,” said Donny Dorsey, vice president, Operations and Manufacturing.
“We want to make sure that the place is safe in the event of high winds and flooding. Things can move around, and electrical damage is a possibility,” said Dorsey. “A team that’s got the right experience to come assess will come in before anybody else is allowed on the premises. They’ll walk through the shipyard and make sure everything is as we expect it to be.”
With 11,300 shipbuilders, Ingalls is one of the largest employers on the Mississippi Gulf Coast with employees residing from Florida to Louisiana. Because of that, a storm may miss South Mississippi but still impact operations at Ingalls.
“We have to be aware of where a storm hits,” said Dorsey. “It may be that we had a storm and we’re okay. We know we can turn things back on pretty quickly, but we also know a lot of our people who live in Louisiana, for example, may be affected. We know those people aren’t going to be able to get back as quickly.”
For the most up-to-date information on weather conditions at Ingalls, check the Heavy Weather tab on the IngallsConnect app or subscribe to texts by sending 123-INGALLS to 38671. Shipbuilders can also call the Employee Info Line at 1-877-871-2058 for updates on closures and other important information, as well as to report your status after a severe weather event.
For more information on how to prepare for your home and family for storm season, visit WLOX’s Prepare South Mississippi 2022 hurricane guide.