Mexico’s largest container port has resumed operations after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake rocked the country’s Pacific Coast region Monday.
Officials for the Port of Manzanillo said that operations restarted at 8 a.m. Wednesday for all types of commercial and tourist vessels. The Port of Manzanillo had been closed to operations since noon Sunday in preparation for Tropical Storm Madeline, according to Noticias Manzanillo.
The earthquake that occurred just after 1 p.m. Monday left two people dead in the city of Manzanillo and damaged homes, buildings, bridges and roads. The tropical storm also caused wind and water damage to parts of the city.
The earthquake’s epicenter was just 40 miles from the Port of Manzanillo, one of the main gateways for international trade with Mexico, handling about 48% of all cargo entering the country. The port handled 3.37 million twenty-foot equivalent units and 14 million tons of cargo in 2021, according to SPC Global.
Philippines-based port operator International Container Terminal Services (ICTSI), which recently added four gantry cranes at the Port of Manzanillo, said it is still assessing damage at the facility.
“Everyone is OK, no injuries to report,” Narlene Soriano, a spokeswoman for ICTSI, told FreightWaves. “We are currently conducting a thorough inspection of the facility.”
Other terminal operators at the Port of Manzanillo include SSA Mexico, Hutchison Ports Timsa and the Ocupa Group.
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