Closed port due to the weather?

It is unbelievably frustrating, but it affects most ports at some time or another. Bad weather! Why do they have to close though?

In short; Health & Safety! The loading and unloading of a container ship is highly technical, and uses large cranes with precision accuracy to ensure that containers are packed safely and securely onto and off of the ship. When winds increase to a high level, the crane and container become potentially unstable and therefore vulnerable to damage. The containers they are moving can be damaged, and indeed they can cause significant damage to the ship and port. Hence the ‘Closed Port’ decisions, which can cause delays and unexpected costs.

In addition to this, the huge ships that now transport these containers can wreak havoc on the infrastructure of the Port. They have steel hulls which when out of control can effectively become a wrecking ball. So moving ships in and out of port during storms is not an option.

It seems we have no option but to sit tight and ride out the storm, and wait for the ports to re open, even if this does cause us all a lot of frustration and inconvenience.