After Katrina
As the Lower 9th Ward was dewatered, ING 4727 at first came to rest atop a number of house sites on the east side of Jourdan Avenue. Hurricane Rita, however, subsequently raised the water level in the Industrial Canal sufficiently to top the still-incomplete levee repairs, reflooding the area and refloating the barge.
As waters were again drained from the area, the barge came to rest a few dozen yards from its earlier location, diagonally across Jourdan Avenue near the intersection of North Roman Street, partially atop former homes and a school bus.
In the months after Katrina, the barge became a morbid tourist attraction for those interested in the devastation.
On 22 February 2006, salvage work began which lifted the barge approximately 4 feet (1.2 m) into the air using inflatable bags so that the bottom of the vessel could be inspected for damage, and on 24 February Titan Maritime began the process of cutting up and removing it from the area. A number of pieces were under court order to be preserved as evidence in pending lawsuits, although that order has been modified to allow for the disposal of all remaining portions of the barge. Removal of the pieces of the barge from the Lower 9th Ward was completed the third week of March, 2006.
On 4 June 2007, a Federal trial looking into possible liability of Ingram and other parties for damage from the barge began in New Orleans.
On March 31, 2008, Judge Helen Berrigan, Chief Judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, issued an Opinion that exonerated the barge owner, Ingram Barge Company, from any liability for the ING 4727 breaking free of its moorings during or after Hurricane Katrina passed through the New Orleans area.
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