East Coast Seaports Getting Back Up to Speed

Officials at the Port of New York and New Jersey report that cargo operations are being restored in the wake of last week’s devastating storm.

Two terminals in Port Elizabeth, N.J. started receiving inbound vessels on Sunday, the Port Authority and two more terminals—Port Newark Container Terminal and Global Terminal – will reopen today. Port Newark Container Terminal also is expecting vessel traffic to resume this evening.

On Sunday, four cargo vessels were expected at Maher Terminal and one cargo vessel was expected at APM Terminal, both in Port Elizabeth.

The damage incurred by the huge tidal surge could have been much worse, said Aaron Ellis, a spokesman for the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA).

“Each port has a hurricane preparedness and business recovery plan that they put in place in advance of potential approaching hurricanes, like Sandy,” he said. “These measures are designed to first protect lives and worker safety, and then to secure equipment and facilities to minimize potential damage to cargo and/or facilities.”

Ongoing assessments of the condition of the other ports is done by U.S. Coast Guard, said Ellis. It is not known yet, to what extent shipments were redeployed to ports in the southeast and gulf.

Late last month, Kurt Nagle, AAPA’s president and CEO warned of potential supply chain disruptions if ports receive inadequate funding.

“Despite substantial investments by port authorities and private-sector business partners, inadequate infrastructure connecting ports to landside transportation networks and water-side shipping lanes often creates bottlenecks that result in congestion, productivity losses, and a global economic disadvantage for America,” he said.

“These congestion issues and productivity losses have the potential to stymie our ability to compete internationally.”

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