Coast Guard Working To Reopen Ports and Waterways Following Hurricane Ida

NEW ORLEANS — The Coast Guard is continuously working to reopen the ports and waterways throughout Southeast Louisiana following Hurricane Ida. 

Capt. Will Watson, Coast Guard captain-of-the-port for the Port of New Orleans is working in close coordination with federal, state, parish, city and maritime stakeholders to safely reopen maritime traffic along the Mississippi River and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. Some key areas along the river remain closed as recovery operations continue.

“We continue to work closely with the State of Louisiana and our maritime industry partners to reconstitute our ports,” said Watson. “This is a massive recovery effort and we are doing our part to ensure that the commerce that sustains our Nation can continue to flow freely and safely over our critical waterways.”

Coast Guard crews conducted post-storm port assessments to reopen the Mississippi River and Gulf Intracoastal Water after Hurricane Ida passed through the area. The assessments were conducted to ensure maritime commerce is safe to resume. 

Coast Guard crews continue to work with port partners on the identification and mitigation of grounded and submerged vessels along banks of the Lower Mississippi River.

Mariners are requested to immediately report any hazards to navigation, discrepant aids-to-navigation, or any other hazardous conditions. Please make reports to the Sector New Orleans Command Center via marine radio channel 16 or by calling (504) 365-2209.

Port conditions change based on weather forecasts, and current port conditions can be viewed on the following Coast Guard homeport webpages:

• Sector Mobile, Alabama Port Directory 
• Sector New Orleans Port Directory 
• Sector Houston-Galveston Port Directory 
• Sector Corpus Christi, Texas Port Directory 
• Marine Safety Unit Port Arthur, Texas Port Directory
• Marine Safety Unit Houma, Louisiana Port Directory 

-USCG-

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