Gulfport and Pascagoula return to normal port condition after Isaias

The U.S. Coast Guard has returned the ports of Gulfport and Pascagoula, Mississippi, to normal port condition after Hurricane Isaias, and Mobile resumed regular operations effective 4:00 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10, according to Baird Maritime on Oct. 12. The Alabama Port Authority said gates, ship activity, and administrative offices in Mobile are back on regular schedules.

Four Florida ports — Pensacola, Destin, Panama City, and Port St. Joe — remain in recovery status, along with miles 167 to 376 of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway; miles 44.5 to 166 of the waterway are back to normal. Under recovery status, commercial vessel movements stay suspended until channel surveys are clear, and recreational vessels 65 feet or longer are restricted. The Coast Guard has deployed seven teams to verify aids to navigation, five teams for facility assessments, and five communications teams, plus MH-60 Jayhawk helicopters and HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft for aerial surveys.

Shell and Chevron shut in offshore production ahead of the storm, which came ashore near Destin around 8:30 p.m. local time on Oct. 9 as a Category 2 with 105 mph sustained winds. Drivers running the Gulf Coast should expect normal port operations in Mississippi and Alabama but continued disruptions — and possible detours — around the Florida Panhandle ports.