Pictures of vessels stranded by Hurricane Katrina

In September 2005, Hurricane Katrina’s strong storm winds picked up and haphazardly deposited thousands of vessels across the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. The cleanup was the largest salvage effort in U.S. history. It was the job of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), working with the Coast Guard, to figure out how to remove boats that were in some cases stacked one on top of the other.

Vessels that were a direct hazard to navigation were the first to be salvaged, but, two years later, there were still boats outside of waterways waiting to be removed. In 2007, the Gulf of Mexico Marine Debris Program was continuing to survey and map hidden marine debris, left in the wake of the 2005 hurricane.

The images show the initial damage in 2005 and some of the creative methods used to remove large vessels.

All images in this gallery are courtesy Doug Helton, USCRTF, FEMA, U.S. Coast Guard, and NOAA.

Read or listen: After Katrina, 3,500 vessels sunk or stranded