Hurricane Ida closes New Orleans and the Lower Mississippi River
Hurricane Ida closes New Orleans and the Lower Mississippi River. The disruption ran from 2021-08-28 (28 August 2021) to 2021-09-03 (3 September 2021), 7 days, affecting New Orleans, South Louisiana, Baton Rouge. South Louisiana averaged 0.9 calls per day during the event window against an expected 6.4 (-86.5%). New Orleans averaged 2.9 calls per day during the event window against an expected 13.6 (-79.1%).
Key facts
- Started
- 2021-08-28 (28 August 2021)
- Ended
- 2021-09-03 (3 September 2021)
- Status
- ended
- Type
- Weather stoppage
- Severity
- 2 Moderate
- Scope
- regional
- Chokepoints
- None
- Lanes
- None
- Countries
- United States
- Confidence
- medium: The closure and the reopening are documented by the Coast Guard, but the Coast Guard bulletin and the port release give different days for the river reopening, so the end date follows the bulletin that describes the removal of the obstruction.
- First reported
- 2021-08-28 (28 August 2021)
- Severity basis: Port wide stoppage of 24 hours to seven days; vessel movement on the Lower Mississippi River was prohibited from 2021-08-28 and the river reopened to all traffic on 2021-09-03.
What happened
From 2021-08-28 (28 August 2021) the Captain of the Port set port condition Zulu before Hurricane Ida and prohibited vessel movement on the Lower Mississippi River, closing the Port of New Orleans and the other river ports of southeast Louisiana. Ida made landfall in Louisiana on 2021-08-29 as a category 4 hurricane. A downed transmission tower dropped power lines across the channel near mile marker 106.5 and a survey of the ship channel was required before traffic could return. The Coast Guard reopened the river to all vessel traffic on 2021-09-03 (3 September 2021), with speed and tow size limits between mile markers 108 and 167.5. The port resumed limited cargo work on 2021-09-02 and container operations on 2021-09-07.
Measured effect
Port calls, New Orleans
- Baseline (expected)
- 13.6 calls per day
- Observed
- 2.9 calls per day
- Change
- -10.8 (-79.1%)
- Standardised score
- -2.9
- Event window
- 2021-08-28 to 2021-09-03 (7 days)
- Baseline window
- 2021-06-26 to 2021-08-20 (56 valid days)
- Method
- wfm-effect-1.0
- Computed
- 2026-09-24 (24 September 2026), data revision 1:0cc7febfacf8
Source: IMF PortWatch (portwatch.imf.org), International Monetary Fund, using UN Global Platform AIS data. Statistics derived by World Freight Monitor. Terms.
This is a measured change in public data during the event window, compared with a baseline before it. It shows timing, not cause. We describe an event as causing a change only when an official source says so.
Port calls, South Louisiana
- Baseline (expected)
- 6.4 calls per day
- Observed
- 0.9 calls per day
- Change
- -5.5 (-86.5%)
- Standardised score
- -2.2
- Event window
- 2021-08-28 to 2021-09-03 (7 days)
- Baseline window
- 2021-06-26 to 2021-08-20 (56 valid days)
- Method
- wfm-effect-1.0
- Computed
- 2026-09-24 (24 September 2026), data revision 1:2b0c40614c9f
Source: IMF PortWatch (portwatch.imf.org), International Monetary Fund, using UN Global Platform AIS data. Statistics derived by World Freight Monitor. Terms.
This is a measured change in public data during the event window, compared with a baseline before it. It shows timing, not cause. We describe an event as causing a change only when an official source says so.
Timeline
- The Captain of the Port sets port condition Zulu. From 14:00 no vessel movement is authorised between mile marker 167.5 above Head of Passes and mile marker 20 below it, and from 22:00 the closure extends upriver to mile marker 303. [s1]
- Hurricane Ida makes landfall in Louisiana as a category 4 storm, according to the Port of New Orleans, which reports that seven general cargo vessels stayed in port through the storm. [s3]
- The port resumes limited cargo and vessel operations, starting with breakbulk work at the Louisiana Avenue complex. [s3]
- The Coast Guard opens the Lower Mississippi River to all vessel traffic after power lines from a downed transmission tower are cleared and the ship channel is surveyed, keeping speed and tow size limits in place. [s2] [s4]
- Container operations resume at the Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal, according to the port. [s3]
Cause
The Coast Guard closed the river to vessel movement ahead of Hurricane Ida, which made landfall in Louisiana on 2021-08-29. Reopening waited on the removal of power lines from a transmission tower that fell across the waterway near mile marker 106.5 and on a survey of the ship channel. Attributed by: U.S. Coast Guard. [s1] [s2]
Resolution
2021-09-03 (3 September 2021): The Coast Guard reopened the Lower Mississippi River to all vessel traffic on 2021-09-03 once obstructions were cleared and the channel surveyed. Port terminals restarted in stages, with limited cargo work from 2021-09-02 and container operations from 2021-09-07. [s2] [s3] [s4]
Corrections
No corrections to this record as of 2026-09-24 (24 September 2026).
Sources
- [s1] U.S. Coast Guard, MSIB Vol XXI Issue 058 Setting of Port Condition ZULU- Sunshine Bridge (MM167.5 AHP) to MM 20 BHP, published 2021-08-28 (28 August 2021), accessed 2026-09-15. Archived copy. (official)
- [s2] U.S. Coast Guard, Coast Guard opens Lower Mississippi River to all vessel traffic following Hurricane Ida, published 2021-09-04 (4 September 2021), accessed 2026-09-15. Archived copy. (official)
- [s3] Port of New Orleans, Port of New Orleans Cargo Operations Resume Four Days After Hurricane Ida, published 2021-09-03 (3 September 2021), accessed 2026-09-15. Archived copy. (official)
- [s4] gCaptain, Lower Mississippi River Open To All Vessel Traffic, published 2021-09-05 (5 September 2021), accessed 2026-09-15. Archived copy. (press)