Coast Guard works to reopen ports and waterways

The Coast Guard is working to reopen ports and ship channels as rapidly as possible after Hurricane Gustav.

The most up to date ship channel status information is available at a newly established SHIP CHANEL INFORMATION PAGE

Among other initiatives, a Joint Hurricane Team (JHT), has been working to reopen the Mobile and Pascagoula Ship Channels to deep-draft traffic.

The JHT is made up of representatives from the maritime industry, Mobile and Pascagoula Port Authorities, and state and federal officials, including the Coast Guard, Army Corp of Engineers, and NOAA. The JHT was formed in 2006 as one of the lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina, and has since coordinated recovery operations in more than 10 tropical storms and hurricanes.

In order to expedite the reopening of the Mobile and Pascagoula Ship Channels to deep-draft traffic, members of the JHT, including Drummond Coal and Chevron Pascagoula, have joined forces again. As part of the recovery plan, the Coast Guard is currently working to restore critical aids to navigation, and the Army Corp of Engineers is conducting detailed surveys to determine channel depth and the extent of shoaling resulting from Hurricane Gustav.