Cold Front Closes Quintana Roo Ports, Hits Nautical Sector

Cancun — The arrival of a cold front, bringing winds of 35 kilometers per hour, has forced the closure of ports in several municipalities of Quintana Roo, delivering bad news for a nautical sector that has not yet recovered from the recent low season and has already resorted to solidarity furloughs.

Ricardo Muleiro López, president of the Asociados Náuticos de Quintana Roo (ANQ), stated that the port was closed for all vessels in Isla Mujeres as of last night. Meanwhile, in Playa del Carmen, only vessels over 15 meters in length are permitted to depart, a situation identical to that in Cozumel.

In Puerto Juárez, navigating the open sea has been prohibited, restricting activities to the Nichupté lagoon, which represents only 5 to 10 percent of their sales.

Cold Front 13 also prompted port closures in Chiquilá and Holbox, except for ferries, prolonging the difficult period for boat operators in Lázaro Cárdenas, who had virtually no sales due to recent rains.

Puerto Morelos remains the sole location with open navigation, due to the natural shelter provided by its reef barrier.

Good Weather, Low Sales

Ricardo Muleiro highlighted that, despite the current closure, the weather has been very benevolent this year in 2025, as the number of days with closed navigation so far this year is less than half of the 90 days recorded in 2024.

The business leader lamented that this increased operational time has not translated into higher income, as this year's low season was more drastic than usual.

"September and part of October were very slow. The long weekend for the Day of the Dead brought a 20 percent increase, but now occupancy is dropping again," Muleiro said.

While there are good expectations for the end of the year, many companies are currently maintaining a system of solidarity furloughs with their workforce.