Some Florida ports reopen while millions lack power after Milton

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Some ports in Florida have resumed operations while millions in the US state remain without power after Hurricane Milton made landfall earlier in the week, south of the fertilizer hub of Tampa.

A few ports in Florida have maintained Port Condition Zulu, under which they are closed to inbound and outbound vessels.

Others have reopened and have set Port Condition IV, which is a hurricane seasonal alert to which ports return after a storm.

The following table summarizes the port conditions in Florida.

Port	Status	Condition
Port of Pensacola	Open	Normal
Port Panama City	Open	Draft restrictions
Port St Joe	Open	Normal
Port Tampa Bay	Closed	Zulu
SeaPort Manatee	Closed	Zulu
PortMiami	Open	IV
Port Everglades	Open	IV
Port of Palm Beach	Open	IV
Fort Pierce	Open with Restrictions	IV with restrictions
Port Canaveral	Open	IV
Jaxport	Open	IV
Port of Fernandina	Closed	Zulu

Source: US Coast Guard

OUTAGES
Florida has more than 2.2 million reported outages, according to the website poweroutage.us. That is down by more than 1 million versus the immediate aftermath of the hurricane.

Prolonged outages can disrupt economic activity and slow down demand for plastics and chemicals.

CSX WARNS OF RAIL DELAYS
The railroad company CSX warned of delays while it works to clear tracks, install generators and conduct repairs.

All routes north of Jacksonville, Florida are open with no anticipated issues, it said. The area south, from Callahan to the north end of Anthony, is also clear.

Work continues in central Florida, and CSX is addressing washouts on the Carter and Vitis subdivisions.

The CFR line should be open later Friday night, providing a potential route into Winter Haven.

CSX is making contingency plans for possible issues with a gas pipe washout near the Miami area.

IMPACT ON FERTILIZERS, PHOSPHATES, CHEMS
For chemicals, there is some epoxy resin, phenolic resin and unsaturated polyester resin (UPR) production in Lakeland and Kathleen, Florida.

Milton will make landfall far from Pensacola, Florida, which has plants that make nylon and thermoset resins.

Tampa is an important hub for the US fertilizer industry, hosting corporate offices, trading, product storage, shipping and other logistical operations.

Fertilizer producer Mosaic has its headquarters in Tampa. The company has not issued any statements regarding its corporate operations.

A source at the fertilizer company Yara said it was shutting down its Tampa offices to comply with the evacuation orders.

Near Tampa is Florida’s phosphate mining operations in Bone Valley, which covers parts of Hardee, Hillsborough, Manatee and Polk counties.

In all, Florida has 27 phosphate mines, of which nine are active, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

Canadian fertilizer producer Nutrien has yet to restart its White Springs phosphate operations following Helene, an earlier hurricane that made landfall farther north in Florida’s Big Bend region.

On 30 September, Mosaic said its Riverview operations were off line following water intrusion from a storm surge caused by Hurricane Helene.

Thumbnail Photo: Hurricane Milton. (By Cira/Noaa/Planet Pix via ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock)