Slip shortage a bigger issue in Katrina’s wake

BILOXI, Miss. – As boat owners who sent their vessels upriver to safety before Hurricane Katrina begin to bring them home, it’s no surprise that they’re finding a serious shortage of slips along Mississippi’s coastline.

There was a slip shortage before the hurricane, which destroyed several coastal marinas and damaged others.

The good news, though, is that one Mississippi city is already beginning to pursue reconstruction.

Biloxi’s Small Craft Harbor was completely destroyed in the hurricane, according to a report yesterday from ABC TV affiliate WLOX 13. But the city has plans to rebuild it “better than it was before.”

The first step is to conduct a sonar survey in the harbor to determine how much dredging needs to be done and what kind of debris needs to be removed, the TV station reported.

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