The derelict barge on Chattanooga’s downtown waterfront is floating again.
Pumping has expelled the water which had caused the vessel to partially sink last month, workers said. The barge’s condition is expected to be checked out and repairs made as needed.
A Mississippi firm, Gulf Stream Enterprises, has agreed to float the barge down the Tennessee River and ultimately to Mobile Bay, according to a plan laid out in U.S. Bankruptcy Court last week.
Gulf Stream is to take ownership for it and to be paid $195,000 to remove the barge by May 15, though workers have said it could be taken away from the waterfront before then.
The barge was brought to the waterfront in 2009 by Chattanooga businessman Allen Casey. He wanted to put up a floating restaurant, but nothing was ever built.
The barge partly sank last month when someone intentionally redirected a hose pumping water out of the barge back into the vessel, officials said.
See more in Wednesday’s Times Free Press.