Update 3: US East Coast Ports Reopen After Matthew

JAXPORT Following the passing of Hurricane Matthew, seaports in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida are returning to normal operating conditions. The North Carolina State Ports Authority said the Ports of Wilmington and Morehead City will return to a normal operating schedule on October 10, 2016. In addition, the South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) said it will resume vessel operations and normal hours at all facilities on October 10, 2016, including container gate services at the Wando Welch and North Charleston Terminals. According to the Georgia Ports Authority (GPA), power has been restored to Colonels Island Terminal and Mayors Point and Logistec in Brunswick as well as at Garden City and Ocean Terminals in Savannah. The USCG has been assessing the Savannah river channel and vessels are expected to be permitted to transit Monday morning, October 10. Additionally, container operations at the Garden City Terminal are expected to resume Monday evening, October 10, with gate operations resuming Tuesday morning, October 11, 2016. Moreover, Floridas Jacksonville Port Authority (JAXPORT) revealed that modified Condition Four has been set for the Port of Jacksonville, meaning that the port is now open with some restrictions. Hurricane Condition Four has been set in the Port of Fernandina as well, where all vessels over 300 gross tons cannot transit until a full evaluation of the channel has been completed and the Captain of the Port has deemed it safe to transit. Other Florida ports including Port Canaveral, Port Miami, Port Everglades, Port of Palm Beach have also resumed their operations. On October 9, Hurricane Matthew was downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone as it began to head out to the Atlantic. However, it is still reaching maximum winds of 75 mph the same as a category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. World Maritime News Staff