A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge in Chattanooga today approved a loan agreement that will help speed the removal of a dilapidated barge from downtown's waterfront, attorneys said today.
Judge Shelley Rucker agreed to the $350,000 loan to pay for raising the half -submerged barge and later floating it away from where its moored across from Ross's Landing.
"A lot has been accomplished in the last five weeks," she said during a hearing.
A Tullahoma, Tenn., bank is loaning the money for ridding the barge. The bank would be paid back from the eventual sale of land to which the vessel is moored, attorneys have said.
Jerrold Farinash, trustee in the bankruptcy court case involving the barge and Chattanooga businessman Allen Casey, said he expected that pumping will begin Thursday afternoon to refloat the vessel and should take at least a couple of days.
Workers will access the barge's condition and make repairs which may be needed, he said.
Farinash said a Mississippi firm, Gulf Stream Enterprises, has agreed to float the barge down the Tennessee River and ultimately to Mobile Bay.
Court papers call for Gulf Stream to take ownership and for the company to be paid $195,000 to remove the barge by May 15, though workers have said it could be removed before then.
Casey floated the barge to the city in 2009 in hopes of putting a restaurant on it, but nothing ever happened.
The barge sank early last week, with Farinash saying it was intentionally vandalized and swamped.
See more in Thursday's Times Free Press.