Northeast ports resuscitate after storm

   In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy and extensive flooding in the New York area, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey issued a press release at 6 a.m. Tuesday morning notifying users that all the port authority’s maritime facilities are closed until further notice.
   The Maryland Port Administration said its public marine terminals in Baltimore will remain closed on Tuesday.
   Norfolk missed the worst of the storm and, in a release issued yesterday afternoon, the Virginia Port Authority said all state-owned terminals would be open for business on Tuesday but would start work at 8 a.m., a two-hour delay from the normal startup. There will also be no vessel operations until a port assessment has been completed by the Coast Guard.
   “Motor carriers will be able to interchange empty containers, but will have to do so at the main terminals because the empty yards are still in storm
preparedness mode. We anticipate the opening of the Norfolk and Portsmouth empty yards later Tuesday morning,” VPA said.
   Because of the flooding and service interruptions, the Norfolk Southern railroad said customers from Virginia to New England should expect delays of at least 72 hours. The storm is also reportedly causing blizzard conditions in the Midwest on the western edges of the storm. Soon after hitting the coast in New York, headed towards Philadelphia, the center of Hurricane Sandy turned northwards, weakening in strength but spreading to a diameter of around 1,000 miles.