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Savannah, Charleston ports close and re-open after Irma sweeps through

MAJOR US east coast ports, notably Savannah, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina, impacted by Hurricane Irma, said they would be fully operational later this week.

At 2:45 on Monday September 11, the Savannah River crested below the docks at the port's Garden City Terminal, but there was no water damage, said a Georgia Port Authority (GPA) notice to trade.

"Hurricane straps on our empty containers and ship-to-shore cranes prevented any cargo, crane or other infrastructure damage. Assessment of our other facilities including Brunswick are currently under way," said the GPA statement.

GPA's critical workforce will be returning tomorrow (Tuesday) morning to prepare the terminal for cargo operations.

"We will be working with our many logistics partners to determine re-opening of the port and river channel.

"We would like to thank the excellent leadership of Governor Deal and his emergency management team as well as local responders who have and continue to work to keep Georgia's citizens out of harm's way.

For updates, the port authority advised visits to the gaports.com website, and look for the text 'IRMA' to 888-777 to sign up for updates.

The South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) continues to monitor conditions associated with tropical storm Irma.

The SCPA ceased all Charleston operations - breakbulk and container - at 2 pm on Monday, September 11. It expected normal operations to resume on Tuesday morning, September 12.