St. Michael’s Fuel & Ice

St. Michael’s Fuel & Ice was opened in 1993, by Mr. David Luke, a well-respected Biloxi businessman and shrimper. When the gaming industry was introduced to the Mississippi Gulf Coast in the early 1990s, a burden was put on the ice supplies in the area. The existing ice houses and fuel docks were hard pressed to meet the demand of the fishermen and processing plants, so Mr. Luke met that need by opening St. Michael’s Fuel & Ice only to realize the need was even greater than he had realized –often running out of fuel and ice by lunch time! Also a purchaser of shrimp, they were the only shrimp dock at that time that could unload two boats simultaneously.

During hurricanes, they would coordinate with the Budweiser Company and, together, they would get ice to victims in need. In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated St. Michael’s operations. Resilient as they were, the Luke family had the operation back up and running by November though all that they had of their dock were the pilings. They knew how critical fuel and ice were to the community as many locals were forced to live on their shrimp, charter and pleasure boats in the aftermath of the storm. They even set up land-based operations with tanks and trailers for people in the community.

As the Biloxi-Ocean Springs Bridge underwent its rebuilding, along with the entire Gulf Coast, St. Michael’s Fuel and Ice serviced the tugs, barges and heavy equipment needed for the recovery effort. While it only took three months to get the fuel services operational, it took well over a year to get the shrimp unloading services back online. Shortly after opening for the 2007 Mississippi shrimp season, the Biloxi Businessmen’s Club presented them with the “Golden Shovel” award for rebuilding the business and unloading 1,000,000 pounds of shrimp within a month.

In 2014, the aging David and Elaine Luke sold the business to a local family that still operates under the name “Biloxi Dock & Ice.”

For years of service to the industry, and contributions to countless organizations such as youth groups, churches and fundraising benefits, St. Michael’s Fuel & Ice are recognized in the Maritime & Seafood Industry Museum’s Heritage Hall of Fame.