ALERT: All SHIPS MUST DEPART PORT OF NEW YORK

HIGH PRIORITY ALERT FROM MORAN SHIPPING

Please urgently be advised that the U.S. Coast Guard CAPTAIN OF THE PORT has set Hurricane Condition X RAY for the Port of New York and New Jersey.

Gale force winds from a hurricane force storm IRENE are expected to make landfall along the coast of New York New Jersey within 48 hours. In addition to the actions required by the Captain of the Port Hurricane and Severe Weather Plan, additional requirements are as follows:

Commercial deep draft vessels greater than 300 gross tons are not authorized to remain in port alongside a pier after 1800 on Saturday, August 27, 2011.

All vessels must be out of Bay Ridge, Stapleton, and Gravesend Bay Anchorage Grounds by 1800 on Saturday, August 27, 2011.

Only one barge per commercial mooring buoy, with a tug in the vicinity, is authorized after 1800 on Saturday, August 27, 2011.

In accordance with 33 C F R 160.11, barges requesting to enter, transit or remain in port must comply with the following requirements:

All barges greater than 500 gross tons desiring to remain in port must arrange safe mooring and shall complete and submit immediately to the CAPTAIN OF THE PORT a Remaining in Port Checklist for approval. Barges of 500 gross tons departing the port must plan to depart no later than 12 hours prior to the arrival of gale force winds.

Mariners are advised that the CAPTAIN OF THE PORT will impose vessel traffic control measures significantly limiting vessel movement and activities when gale force winds are within 12 hours of the port. Vessels bound for the port of New York and New Jersey which are unable to depart 12 hours prior to the arrival of gale force winds are advised to seek an alternate destination.

Please feel free to contact us anytime 24 hrs a day at the below contact information should you have any questions whatsoever regarding the Port of NY/NJ.  We will continue to operate throughout the storm and serve our customers without issue or unforeseeable delay.

Best regards,
Jeffrey J. Milstein
Operations Manager
Moran Shipping Agencies, Inc.

UPDATE: Personnel & Residents Ordered To Evacuate City Ports

Mayor Bloomberg has released the following hurricane Irene evacuation order to residents living in the orange sections of the above map (click on map image for interactive version):

Due to the approach of Hurricane Irene, the City has issued a mandatory evacuation order for New Yorkers who live in the low-lying Zone “A” coastal areas in all five boroughs. This includes all parts of the Rockaways due to its exposure to the ocean. People should be out of these areas by 5PM on Saturday.

Residents who live in Zone A are strongly encouraged to stay with friends or family outside an evacuation zone. Evacuation Centers will be open Friday at 4 PM for residents who have no alternative shelter.

MTA service including subways, buses, and railroads will begin to shut down at noon tomorrow so please prepare to evacuate immediately.

*Use the HURRICANE EVACUATION ZONE FINDER to find out if you live in a hurricane evacuation zone
*Due to unusually high traffic this site may be slow. Please be patient or download a map of the NYC hurricane evacuation zones (PDF)

 *NOTE: The Evacuation Center marked in the hurricane evacuation zone map as Aqueduct Racetrack, Rockaway Blvd. & 108th Street in Queens is being replaced by John Adams High School, 101-01 Rockaway Blvd., Ozone Park, 11417.

*NOTE: The Evacuation Center marked in the NYC hurricane evacuation zone map as Christ the King H.S. has been moved to Grover Cleveland H.S. Check the zone finder or call 311 for updated information. 

 

Update 2: USCG Prepares Assets For Hurricane Response

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Coast Guard spent Friday moving personnel and assets to be ready to respond as Hurricane Irene churned up the eastern seaboard.

Units from the 1^st, 5^th and 7^th Coast Guard Districts implemented their hurricane plans, moving command elements, response vessels and aircraft and personnel out of Irene’s path while at the same time warning professional mariners and others on the water of approaching danger.

In addition to the aviation assets stationed along the East Coast, which are poised to respond to life-saving, pollution and disaster response missions, the Coast Guard has the ability to surge 18 more MH-65 Dolphin helicopters, six MH-60T Jayhawk helicopters, three HC-144A Ocean Sentry long-range reconnaissance planes, six HC-130 Hercules cargo planes and two HU-25 Falcon jets, from air stations located around the country.

Coast Guard Captains of the Port from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Portland, Maine, are setting port conditions for 46 U.S. ports to protect maritime infrastructure, port facilities, merchant vessels and the maritime transportation system from the dangers of Hurricane Irene.

Coast Guard Disaster Assistance Response Teams are movinginto staging areas in anticipation of the flooding that will come with Irene’s forecasted heavy rains.  A total of six of these seven-person teams, equipped with three shallow-water boats per team plus flood response equipment, are being deployed to staging areas.

“We need people to follow the orders of local officials and evacuate when ordered,” said Cmdr. Chris O’Neil, chief of media relations for the U.S. Coast Guard.  “We safeguard our personnel and assets in advance of the storm so that we can respond as soon as safely possible.  If you remain in an area under a mandatory evacuation order, you do so at your own peril – at the height of a storm our ability to conduct rescues may be diminished and we very well may not be able to get help to you.”

For more information about hurricane preparedness visit http://www.ready.gov/america/beinformed/hurricanes.html.

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