US Tampa port reopens after Helene’s hit; US-wide losses could top $160 billion

SAO PAULO (ICIS)–The port at Tampa in the US state of Florida reopened over the weekend, the port’s authorities said on Sunday, after Hurricane Helene’s destructive path put the US state of Florida against the ropes.

Recovery efforts were underway in Florida as well as states to the north such as South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee.

The hurricane’s death toll surpassed 100 over the weekend, while some analysts have said Helene’s economic impact could stand at up to $160 billion.

Meanwhile, the US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) estimated on Sunday that approximately 3.35% of oil production and 0.91% of natural gas production in the US Gulf Coast were shut-in when it issued that update.

Some railway lines, meanwhile, remained shut in and out of Florida, but companies managed to bring back to operation the most important routes over the weekend.

TAMPA RETURNS
The Port of Tampa was the most affected by the hurricane, which made landfall on 27 September in the Big Bend area of Florida where the port is situated; more than 4 million Floridians lost power right after it made landfall.

Other ports affected were Panama City, St Joe, St Petersburg, Manatee and Key West on Florida’s west coast; Fernandina, Jacksonville and Canaveral on Florida’s east coast. All of them have now returned to normal.

“Port Tampa Bay has resumed vessel operations and our port’s shipping channels are officially re-opened, with vessel movements restricted to daylight hours… Our hope is that the port’s shipping channels will be functional at their full depths shortly,” said the Port Tampa Bay authority on Sunday.

“Port staff fully assessed the docks, wharfs and terminals for safety. Commercial vessel traffic is again being queued for a return to full operations at the port, meaning we are open for business. Some of the first vessels to return will be fuel tankers, cruise ships and vessels carrying perishable cargo.”

The hurricane was expected to disrupt the movement of fertilizers and grain coming in and out of Tampa, as well as some companies’ operations in the area which are expected to remain shut for a few days.

Some petrochemicals end markets such as plastic bales, with collection across much of the south and southeast of the US expected to be delayed.

GULF COAST OIL, GAS
The US’s BSEE said no personnel had been evacuated from any of the five non-dynamically positioned (DP) rigs operating in the Gulf Coast; rigs can include several types of offshore drilling facilities including jackup rigs, platform rigs, all submersibles and moored semisubmersibles.

“A total of one DP rig moved off location out of the storm’s path as a precaution. This number represents 4.76% of the 21 DP rigs currently operating in the Gulf. DP rigs maintain their location while conducting well operations by using thrusters and propellers,” said the BSEE.

“These rigs are not moored to the seafloor, so they can move out of harm’s way in a relatively short time frame. Personnel remain on board and return to the original location once the storm has passed.”

BSEE said the 3.35% shut-in oil production could correspond to around 59,000 barrels of oil per day, while the 0.91% of shut-in gas production would correspond to 17 million cubic feet per day.

It added that facilities are to be inspected in coming hours following the hurricane, adding “production from undamaged facilities will be brought back online immediately” although those with damage may naturally take longer to bring back online.

RAIL DISRUPTIONS
Railroad company CSX said all railways in Florida had now reopened except for two: the Clearwater and Brooksville Subdivisions.

“CSX continues to work around the clock… The storm… left significant rain and wind damage in its path, resulting in flooding, downed trees and power outages. Over the weekend, we have made substantial progress in clearing the network and making necessary repairs,” said the rail operator.

“However, potential delays remain. We are rerouting traffic to meet your needs and committed to fully restoring service as quickly and safely as possible.”

Rail operator Norfolk Southern also said it had made substantial progress over the weekend in recovering railways affected by the storm, with its major routes in Florida and those connecting some key urban areas of the state with Tennessee and Georgia were also operational.

However, it said some routes were still out of service as of Monday, including the line Macon-Brunswick; routes east and west of Asheville; Bluefield in West Virginia to Norton in Virginia; Augusta to Millen, in Georgia; and Augusta in Georgia to Columbia in South Carolina.

“Customers with shipments moving through these areas that are currently out of service could see delays of 72 hours,” concluded Norfolk Southern.

ONE OF THE MOST DAMAGING
On Monday, analysts at AccuWeather said they were sharply increasing their economic loss estimates from Helene to between $145 billion and $160 billion, around 50% higher than their prior estimate at between $95 billion and $110 billion.

The analysts said the increase reflected the additional “grim damage reports” received over the weekend, which would make Hurricane Helene one of the costliest storms in US history because of the devastating storm surge, damaging winds and historic flooding.

“The majority of homes and businesses in some communities are destroyed and some have been washed away. Bridges, roadways and other expensive and critical infrastructure have been heavily damaged or destroyed,” said AccuWeather.

“Pictures and video from the scene, as limited as those reports have been due to ongoing major communication infrastructure damage, suggest one of the worst flooding disasters in US history, with tragically striking similarities in damage to other catastrophic floods such as flooding associated with Hurricane Katrina, the flooding from Hurricane Harvey and the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Floods of 1889 and 1977.”

ECONOMIC IMPACT FROM HURRICANES
In billion dollars
Source: AccuWeather

Front page picture: Aerial view of Tampa’s port; archive image
Source: Tampa Port Bay authority