As Hurricane Harvey made landfall on Friday August 25th, many were caught off guard and not prepared for what was to come. The complete opposite can be said for Cenac Marine Boat Crews as they saved the day in more ways than one. 
Located in the Old River, a narrow offshoot of the San Jacinto River in Channelview, 17 miles east of Houston, are three of Cenac’s inland boats- the Henry Cenac, Weezie Cenac and Tutty Cenac. Luckily, for surrounding barges, the Captains and crew on these boats were fully prepared and on the lookout day and night after landfall of Hurricane Harvey. As stated in an in depth article in the Houma Times, “these Services crews danced a high-wire act on the Old River” that night.
According to captain’s logs from the Cenac vessels, things started to get hairy at the Boone dock as Saturday turned to Sunday. Luke Pierce, captain of the Tutty, wrote there were about 30 barges tied up on the west side of the river and another 25 or so on the east side. Steve Lockwood had his team on the Weezie keeping watch of the situation around the clock, with the crew on standby for any barge making a move. Greg Rodrigue, captain of the Henry, said he was up at midnight monitoring the situation, as well.
From runaway barges to preventing a large amount of turmoil that would have occurred had the Cenac crew not been involved, it is safe to say they saved the day. Mr. Cenac, CEO of Cenac Marine Services applauded his crews for the bravery and intelligence they acted on over the next few days after Harvey made landfall. “Cenac Marine has had the SMS hurricane policy in place for years and it has proven to be effective. Our captains know that the safest place for them and their crew is on our Cenac vessels. Every boat is made with hurricane shatter proof windows that are bolted in as an added precaution,” Cenac said. “Also, all of our boat captains and crew members are always instructed to react accordingly and to assist anyone at anytime when in need of help, whether it be a competitor or not. We are thankful that everyone successfully and safely worked together to avoid any damage to crew members or equipment.”
Thank you to our outstanding Cenac boat crews which are made up of some with years of involvement to those who are a little greener in the boating industry albeit they are highly qualified due to extensive training. Without the tireless hours they spent on those days, who knows the tragedy that could have occurred, and for that we are very grateful.
For pictures and more details of the actions taken, you can read an article written in Houma Today, here.