Due to the winter storm rapidly approaching the east coast of the United States, Maersk LIne has activated their Incident Management Center for Maersk Line to keenly review operations and any potential impacts to customers. As of 4:30pm EST [Wednesday January 3, 2018] A major East Coast winter storm will bring hazardous winter travel conditions from the Southeast to New England through Friday. Bitterly cold temperatures and dangerous wind chills are expected to persist across the Eastern states into the weekend.
A stubborn arctic air mass will persist across much of the U.S. east of the Rockies through this week with afternoon high temperatures expected to be as much as 20 to 25 degrees below normal by the end of the week from the Midwest to the entire Eastern Seaboard. This will help set the stage for a major winter storm to impact portions of the East Coast tonight and into Thursday and Friday. An area of low pressure currently situated off the Florida coast will rapidly deepen as it moves northward through the western Atlantic on Thursday. Freezing rain and snow are already occurring along the Southeast Coast and this will spread northward along the Eastern Seaboard tonight and tomorrow. The current forecast calls for anywhere from 6 to 12 inches of snow accumulation along the East coast from Virginia Beach to Boston. Higher amounts of 12 to 18+ inches are possible for portions of northern New England. Veessel Operations See below for confirmed operational statuses of impacted vessels. Be advised that vessel delays are a combined result of standard holiday closures and associated congestion and are not solely a result of weather impact.
Terminal Operations Boston Conley Terminal will be closed tomorrow, Thursday, January 4. Charleston SCPA terminals in Charleston ceased operations at 10am EST today. Terminals will remain closed until at least 10:00am Thursday January 4th. South Carolina DOT has issued truck restrictions on I-526 and I-26. Savannah The Garden City terminal closed at 4am EST this morning and will remain closed until further notice. Georgia Port Authority is planning on starting terminal operations at Garden City at 1pm Thursday January 4th. Wilmington North Carolina Port Authority ceased operations at 3pm Wednesday January 3rd. Operations will potentially resume at 1pm Thursday January 4th. Eastern North Carolina will experience up to 4 inches of snow. NC Ports will continue to monitor the conditions and update operating hours if necessary. Norfolk The Port of Virginia has made the decision to cease Norfolk and Portsmouth gate operations at 6pm EST today January 3rd. All truck gates will be closed tomorrow January 4th and remain closed until at least 1pm Friday January 5th. National Weather Service has issued a blizzard warning for Norfolk with 5 to 8 inches of snow falling. Columbia Coastal Barge will not sail from Norfolk this evening. Philadelphia Columbia Coastal will omit Packer Avenue Marine Terminal Saturday January 6th due the winter storm along with severe icing conditions in the northern Chesapeake Bay and C&D Canal. Rail Operations CSX Announced closure of their Charleston ramp at 1400 this afternoon. Below is the scheduled re-opening:
Free time for containers not already incurring storage has been extended by one day at both ramps. Norfolk Southern Norfolk Southern announced the closure of their ramp in Charleston at 1000 this morning. They anticipate re-opening tomorrow however will monitor the situation as well as the Charleston Terminal operation throughout the evening. As with CSX, Free time at the NS Charleston ramp will be adjusted accordingly.