East Coast terminals hit by super-storm

On Tuesday evening, a 13ft tidal surge hit the city, cascading into large parts of New York city’s subway and causing the city to shut down its power supply as a safety measure. Across the city, there were reports of explosions, evacuations and flooding. As on Thursday, at least 32 people were reported dead across several US states with an estimated 50m people in total being affected by the storm.

On Monday, before the storm hit, the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey declared that all state-owned terminals would be open for business on Tuesday, after a two hour delay pending a US Coast Guard port damage assessment.

But the Port Authority confirmed to Port Strategy on Tuesday that all of its maritime facilities would remain closed until further notice – they were all shut down on Monday prior to the storm hitting.

Terminals closed are the Port Newark Container Terminal, Port Elizabeth Marine Terminal, Port Jersey Marine Terminal, Howland Hook Marine Terminal on Staten Island and the Brooklyn-Port Authority Marine Terminal.

But problems haven’t just been confined to the New York/New Jersey area. Joe Harris, port spokesman for Virginia Port Authority, confirmed to PS that although there has been no damage there, “We’re awaiting the captain of the port to reopen the sea lanes”.