Hurricane Ike Update
(September 15, 2008)

Much destruction was left in the path of Hurricane Ike this past weekend. The damage assessments are underway of this hard hit area, including the ports and container freight service stations.

The Port of Houston Authority (PHA) only suffered minimal damages. However, the PHA remains closed today and is questionable tomorrow due to the recovery efforts and loss of electricity. Even if the port is ready to open tomorrow, they must wait for the Coast Guard to certify the ship channel to allow vessels to arrive and depart due to debris and assess the aids to navigation to identify any repositioning of buoys.

The Coast Guard is also conducting waterway assessments to identify areas of concern in the ports of Galveston and Houston and in the Houston ship channel. The Coast Guard stated approximately 90 percent of the Houston ship channel navigation aids have been blown off-station or are damaged. The Port of Galveston is under the same Captain of the Port order.

As of 10 a.m. CST there were 70 vessels in the queue at Galveston -- combined cargo ships, tankers, container ships, etc.. Some vessels will be diverted to other ports where possible.

Both Hobby airport and George Bush Intercontinental airports are resuming limited service today.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to all in this hard hit area.

Please be sure to contact your move manager here at World Headquarters for the latest information pertaining to shipments that may be affected.

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