CARRIERS: U.S. OPERATIONS RETURN TO NORMAL

CARRIERS: U.S. OPERATIONS RETURN TO NORMAL    Port, shipping, intermodal and trucking operations in the U.S. have returned to near normal levels, following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, according to several large container shipping lines.
   NYK said that all North American ports and terminals are open and operating under heightened security. The vessels of the Grand Alliance, to which NYK belongs, “are proceeding on their respective coastal schedules without diversion,” the carrier said.
   Due to new U.S. Coast Guard security checks for all vessels arriving and departing the U.S., vessels are
experiencing harbor delays of between 2 and 4 hours. But APL said that those delays are “being recovered through special operational procedures on an as needed basis.”
   Carriers warned of terminal gate delays at New York’s Howland Hook terminal.
   Trucking in the New York City area, Long Island and New Jersey are affected by bridge and tunnel congestion or closures and by security checks, carriers warned.
   In New York, Maersk Inc reported that Holland Tunnel remains closed and that Goethals Bridge to Staten Island, where the Howland Hook terminal is located, is open but subject to delays.
   The on-dock rail terminal in the port of New York/New Jersey has reopened.
   U.S. Customs offices are open and operating under heightened security, APL reported.
   A consequence of the destruction of the New York World Trade Center, where Customs had offices, is that trade documents have been lost or destroyed.
   APL said that it is “working with U.S. Customs and other authorities to ensure that lost or destroyed documentation is replaced so cargo can be released as quickly as possible.”