Mississippi River Closes to Traffic
31 August 2008
The U.S. Coast Guard has shut down traffic on the Mississippi River as of 4 p.m. today.
This closure prohibits all commercial vessel transits and cargo operations within the port with the exception of those vessels that have requested and received approval to transit the port. All waterways will be immediately evaluated for safety after the storm pass.
The Coast Guard goes to "Port Condition Zulu" is set when gale force winds are predicted to arrive at the Southwest Pass entrance sea buoy within 12 hours. Shippers can review the MHCPP online at http://homeport.uscg.mil/nola.
The Coast Guard is establishing a Temporary Safety Zone closing all waterways in the COTP New Orleans Area of Responsibility to include the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway from mile marker 20 west of Harvey locks to mile marker 44 east of Harvey Locks, the Lower Mississippi River from South West Pass Sea Buoy to mile marker 303 and all ports within New Orleans area of responsibility.
Vessels and barges are prohibited from seeking safe haven in the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal from the turning basin to the Industrial Locks.
