U.S. Coast Guard reopens key ports following Hurricane Milton

The U.S. Coast Guard has announced several port reopenings in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina following the impact of Hurricane Milton.

The storm, which made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane on Florida’s Gulf coast, later strengthened again over the Atlantic after crossing the state.

Emergency responders at the federal, state, and local levels are still working to assess the full extent of the damage in affected areas.

Pre-planning and coordination efforts involving agencies such as NOAA, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Florida Division of Emergency Management, and the Florida Department of Transportation, along with various port partners and Coast Guard teams, made it possible for several ports to reopen safely on 10 October.

The following ports are back in operation:

• In Florida: Key West, Port Everglades, Port Miami, and the Miami River

• In Georgia: Brunswick and Savannah

• In South Carolina: Charleston and Georgetown

The Coast Guard’s Captain of the Port for Sector St. Petersburg has also reopened Port Tampa and Seaport Manatee, although restrictions are in place.

Vessel movements that require federal pilotage, such as US vessels over 1,600 gross tonnes and petroleum barges exceeding 10,000 gross tonnes, are currently prohibited. Other movements are limited to daylight hours with at least three nautical miles of visibility. However, there are no restrictions on vessel shifts within the port itself.

At the same time, several other Florida ports remain closed while evaluations and inspections continue. These include St. Petersburg, Fort Myers, the Port of Palm Beach, Fort Pierce, Port Canaveral, Fernandina and Jacksonville.

JAXPORT issued a statement announcing that it remains closed, with plans to reopen the main gates on 11 October, once all post-storm assessments are completed.

Last month, the Port of New Orleans (Port NOLA) and the New Orleans Public Belt (NOPB) resumed operations following the suspension of activities due to Hurricane Francine on 12 September.

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