Disruptions are expected in some Indiana shipments of grain, steel, fertilizer, iron ore and minerals, according to a Ports of Indiana statement issued on Thursday, according to a report on Business First of Louisville. The New Orleans-Gulf Coast region is home to six of the top 15 tonnage ports in the nation, handling more than 500 million tons of cargo per year. Indiana relies on these ports for transloading the state's shipments between river barges and ocean-going ships for international trade, the statement said. Ports in New Orleans, Mobile, Ala., and Gulfport and Pascagoula, Miss., are closed to ships. River traffic is limited to tugboats, barges and recovery boats, but inspections and depth soundings are needed before the river can open to ships.