Storm forecast leads to extension of S.C. port hours

The Port of Charleston will remain open until 5:30 p.m. Thursday to trucks carrying containers for shipment and trucks picking up containers.

The Associated Press

9/4/2008

CHARLESTON, S.C. — A change in the forecast for Tropical Storm Hanna has led the State Ports Authority to expand its hours of operation.

The agency's Web site said the Port of Charleston will remain open until 5:30 p.m. Thursday to trucks carrying containers for shipment and trucks picking up containers.

The Ports Authority extended the hours after forecasters predicted Hanna would make landfall farther up the coast near the North Carolina-South Carolina state line.

The U.S. Coast Guard said Thursday that commercial vessels and barges weighing more than 500 gross tons should leave the port. Ships heading to Charleston that cannot leave port within 24 hours are being told to find an alternate destination.