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 delays of 3 to 9 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 3
To minimize further disruption, several carriers opted to omit Kingston, including APL NEW JERSEY under the CMA CGM BRASEX service, which proceeded directly to Veracruz. Meanwhile, the CMA CGM ML3 feeder service, connecting Kingston and Savannah, is also experiencing 8–9 day delays, affecting regional cargo schedules and logistics planning. Future omissions for Kingston have been listed in upcoming service schedules, though it 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 traffic data shows 6 container vessels alongside, 9 awaiting berth, and 14 inbound arrivals over the next few days—early signs of normalization despite ongoing congestion.
Hurricane Melissa has since exited the Caribbean and is tracking north toward Canada’s eastern seaboard. While expected to transition into a post-tropical system, its swells and wind fields continue to pose risks for vessels en route to Halifax, St. John’s, Maine, and New York.
eeSea Signals
- Kingston Inbound/Outbound vessels Calendar
- NXT Table - Tableau Permission Required
- Port Congestion Timeline - Tableau Permission Required
- Port Congestion by Vessel Wait Times - Tableau Permission Required
- Trade Capacity + Schedule Reliability Evoultion by Port - Tableau Permission Required
Source: eeSea