Ships Answered Gulf Coast Housing S.O.S.
Release Date: March 3, 2006
Release Number: 1603-381
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BATON ROUGE, La. -- The Carnival Cruise Lines ships Ecstasy and Sensation set sail from New Orleans Thursday after nearly six months of service to the city during which time the ships provided emergency housing for first responders and city workers as well as their families.
In the first hectic days after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), along with state and local governments and a host of volunteer agencies, searched diligently for places to house the thousands of victims whose homes had been damaged or destroyed in the storm. Critical in this effort was the need to find immediate housing for the first responders engaged in life-saving search-and-rescue operations and other essential government workers involved in restoring basic services.
To address the critical housing shortage, FEMA procured short-term contracts with several sea-going ships that discontinued their normal operations and made them available for Katrina evacuees.
"The cruise ship emergency housing program was a tremendously successful partnership providing the first responders of the city of New Orleans a place to stay in a time of crisis," said Gil Jamieson, FEMA Deputy Director for Gulf Coast Recovery. "The safe, immediate housing afforded by the cruise ships allowed police officers, fire fighters, emergency medical personnel and city workers to keep the city safe.
"The departure of the ships marks another step forward in the region's recovery," Jamieson added. "In the fall, the cruise ships will return with tourists who will help boost the local economy and help the great city of New Orleans continue to rebuild."
More than 700 members of the New Orleans Police Department, along with their families, were brought aboard the Ecstasy. They were joined by several hundred others - parish sheriffs and deputies and emergency medical personnel. Aboard the Sensation, roughly 200 New Orleans fire fighters and their families, together with more than 1,000 emergency medical personnel and other essential government officials and workers took up immediate temporary residence.
"It has been a gratifying experience for our company and our employees to have been able to provide food, shelter and comfort for thousands of first responders in New Orleans whose critical role in the city's recovery has not wavered throughout this extremely difficult six-month period," said Bob Dickinson, Carnival Cruise Lines president and CEO. "It has been our privilege to be a part of New Orleans' recovery and to support the city's police officers, fire fighters and others who were housed and provided for on board our vessels.
"The departure of our ships from New Orleans symbolizes another positive step in the city's recovery as we prepare for our return to New Orleans in October to resume normal cruise operations," Dickinson added.
The three Carnival Cruise Lines ships, including the Holiday which docked in Pascagoula, Miss., housed approximately 8,000 evacuees and served over two million meals.
Last Modified: Friday, 03-Mar-2006 08:41:21