Hurricane Polo restricts shipping at Mexican Pacific ports

Started

2026-09-22 (22 September 2026)

Ended

2026-09-25 (25 September 2026)

Status

ended

Type

Weather stoppage

Severity

2 Moderate

Scope

regional

Chokepoints

None

Ports

Lazaro Cardenas, Manzanillo (MX), Acapulco

Lanes

None

Countries

Mexico

Confidence

medium: Closure dates and the Zihuatanejo and Lazaro Cardenas reopenings are consistent across Reuters, trade and Mexican press, but no Secretaria de Marina notice could be retrieved directly. Sources differ on whether Lazaro Cardenas was closed to small or to larger vessels; one weather-risk firm says larger, and a zero call count on 2026-09-23 and 2026-09-24 supports it. Daily port call counts at these ports are small and noisy.

First reported

2026-09-22 (22 September 2026)

• Severity basis: Lazaro Cardenas was reported closed to larger vessels from 2026-09-22 to 2026-09-25 and our portwatch-port-calls series shows zero calls there on 2026-09-23 and 2026-09-24, a port wide stoppage of 24 hours to 7 days; Manzanillo stayed open to large ships.

1. 2026-09-22As Polo strengthens to Category 5, the Manzanillo Port Captaincy bars vessels under 500 gross tonnage from 9 a.m. while larger ships keep working, and navigation is barred at Acapulco, Zihuatanejo, Puerto Marques and Lazaro Cardenas for smaller craft, with Acapulco and Zihuatanejo closed to larger vessels as well. [s1] [s3]
2. 2026-09-23The Mexican Navy confirms closures to all vessels at Acapulco and Zihuatanejo and to small vessels at Manzanillo, Lazaro Cardenas and Puerto Escondido, as the hurricane, now Category 4, drifts offshore. [s2]
3. 2026-09-25The Zihuatanejo port captaincy lifts the navigation ban after three days. [s4]
4. 2026-09-25Lazaro Cardenas reopens from 2 p.m. to larger vessels once waves fall below two metres; smaller craft stay restricted for the time being. [s5]

No corrections to this record as of 2026-10-02 (2 October 2026).

1. [s1] FreightWaves, Hurricane Polo disrupts Mexican Pacific ports with high winds, heavy rain, published 2026-09-23 (23 September 2026), accessed 2026-10-02. Archived copy. (press)
2. [s2] KFGO (Reuters), Mexico shuts Pacific ports as Hurricane Polo churns offshore, published 2026-09-23 (23 September 2026), accessed 2026-10-02. Archived copy. (press)
3. [s3] Rotativo, Acapulco, Zihuatanejo, Puerto Marques, Lazaro Cardenas y Manzanillo, sin navegacion por Polo, published 2026-09-22 (22 September 2026), accessed 2026-10-02. Archived copy. (press)
4. [s4] Quadratin Guerrero, Reabre puerto a la navegacion en Zihuatanejo tras el paso de Polo, published 2026-09-25 (25 September 2026), accessed 2026-10-02. Archived copy. (press)
5. [s5] N+ Foro, Reabren Puerto de Lazaro Cardenas a la Navegacion tras Efectos del Huracan Polo, published 2026-09-25 (25 September 2026), accessed 2026-10-02. Archived copy. (press)
6. [s6] i4sea, Hurricane Polo Impact on Mexican Ports: Status and Cargo Effects, published 2026-09-25 (25 September 2026), accessed 2026-10-02. Archived copy. (press)

The address of this record is permanent and a correction is always logged on this page, so a citation names the version you read. Add the date you accessed it.

Plain text

World Freight Monitor. "Hurricane Polo restricts shipping at Mexican Pacific ports." Last updated 2026-10-02 (2 October 2026). https://worldfreightmonitor.com/events/2026/hurricane-polo-mexican-pacific-ports-2026/

APA

World Freight Monitor. (2026). Hurricane Polo restricts shipping at Mexican Pacific ports. World Freight Monitor. https://worldfreightmonitor.com/events/2026/hurricane-polo-mexican-pacific-ports-2026/

BibTeX

@misc{wfm_hurricane_polo_mexican_pacific_ports_2026,
  author = {{World Freight Monitor}},
  title = {Hurricane Polo restricts shipping at Mexican Pacific ports},
  year = {2026},
  note = {Last updated 2026-10-02},
  url = {https://worldfreightmonitor.com/events/2026/hurricane-polo-mexican-pacific-ports-2026/}
}