US east coast ports countdown to Hurricane Irene’s arrival
By Wednesday night, the US Coast Guard Captain of the Port for Sector North Carolina had set Port Condition X-Ray for the Ports of Wilmington and Morehead City in preparation for the impact of Hurricane Irene in 48 hours. Both ports closed their gates to commercial truck traffic at 5:00 p.m. today (Thursday, August 25).
From the Port of Miami to Hampton Roads, condition X-ray preparations are underway. Condition Whiskey is set for Baltimore and the upper Chesapeake bay as of Thursday morning.
The Coast Guard port condition settings are based on the storm’s course and speed.Condition Yankee signals impact in 24 hours; condition Zulu, hurricane landfall within 12 hours. You can track USCG port conditions here. (Select a port from the drop-down menu under “Port Conditions”.)
So disruption of cargo operations along the Atlantic coast is beginning; the extent and duration remain to be seen. As always, Datamyne can help bridge gaps in supply chains and schedules with commercial intelligence on alternate sources.
But, really, here’s hoping Irene lets us all off easy.