Coast Guard reports opens northern Florida ports open

Coast Guard reports opens northern Florida ports open    The U.S. Coast Guard reported at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday that the ports of Jacksonville and Fernandina, Fla., in addition to the intracoastal waterway, are reopened to vessel traffic in the aftermath of Hurricane Frances.
   Port Canaveral, however, remains closed by the agency due to “misplaced aides to navigation and shoaling in the channel.”
   The Coast Guard said the ports were closed to shipping to minimize possible damage to the port infrastructure and marine environment during a hurricane that struck the area over the weekend.
   “Ordering of ships and barges over 500 gross tons out of port and to sea prevented the potential for millions of dollars of damage and the possibility of a large environmental disaster and waterway obstructions,” the agency said.