Hurricane Melissa has significantly disrupted maritime and port activities across Jamaica last week, with the Port of Kingston taking the heaviest hit. Strong winds, heavy rainfall, and rough sea conditions forced temporary slowdowns in terminal operations and delayed several container vessel arrivals.
One of the affected services, the ZIM – ZCP / MSC – AMBERJACK, which deploys vessels averaging 14,400 TEU, is currently reporting additional delays of 3 to 10 days across multiple ships with the potential for further adjustments as conditions evolve:
- ZIM MOUNT BLANC – ETA revised Oct 27 → Nov 5
- ZIM MOUNT EVEREST – ETA revised Oct 28 → Nov 6
- ZIM MOUNT FUJI – ETA revised Oct 31 → Nov 10
To minimize further disruption, several vessels opted to omit Kingston, including the APL NEW JERSEY under the CMA CGM's BRASEX service, which proceeded directly to Veracruz. Other omissions include two more MSC - AMBERJACK vessels; the ZIM MOUNT VINSON and the ZIM MOUNT DENALI which were scheduled to arrive on Nov 6 and Nov 10, respectively.
Meanwhile, the CMA - ML3 feeder service, connecting Kingston and Savannah, is also experiencing 8 to 9 day delays, affecting regional cargo schedules and logistics planning. Future omissions for Kingston have been listed in upcoming service schedules, although it currently remains unclear if these will become permanent or if carriers will adopt blank sailings to stabilize turnaround times.
As weather conditions improve, recovery efforts are underway. Current positions data shows 6 container vessels alongside, 10 awaiting berth, and 11 inbound arrivals over the next few days. The CMA CGM MERCURYY, a 13,000 TEU vessel deployed to CMA's round-the-world PEX2 service, faced 3 days of wait time outside the port only to spend an additional 4 days at berth and has since departed early this morning.
Hurricane Melissa has since exited the Caribbean and has tracked north to Canada’s eastern seaboard where additional vessels face ongoing disruption.
Last updated November 5, 2025
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Source: eeSea