Hurricane Delay Update - 08/07/2024

As you all know, Florida was just hit by a hurricane that has caused this shipment to have unforeseen delays in arriving to our clearwater location. To help better explain this to you, we have built this page to show you exactly what is happening and what the next steps are. 


First here is the timeline of recent events. I am going to skip straight to the hurricane weekend.

  1. On August 2nd at 4:43 a.m. The ship left Mobile AL, and was scheduled to arrive to the Tampa port Sunday August 4th 2024 at 9am. 
    
  2.  On Aug. 3rd, 4 p.m. Tropical Depression Four strengthened into Tropical Storm Debby about 70 miles northwest of Havana, Cuba. Here was the expect track at the time.
    

  3. On Sunday, August 4th at 01:14 a.m. the ship was heading to FL and nothing had changed, yet.
    
    
  4. On August 4th, Tropical Storm Debby had sped up.

  5. On Aug. 4th, 4 p.m. A Hurricane Warning was issued for the Florida coast.

  6. On Aug. 4th, 10 p.m. Tropical Storm Debby strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane.
  7. On August 4th at 10:40 p.m. the ship had started to move away from Florida to avoid the hurricane incoming to its exact path. 
    

  8. On August 5th at 03:38 a.m. The ship began to make its way to Tampa.
    
  9. On Aug. 5th at 6 a.m. Category 1 Hurricane Debby made landfall near Steinhatchee, Florida, with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph
  10. On August 6th at 02:47 a.m. The ship stopped outside Tampa awaiting the winds to go down. 
  11. On August 6th at 09:23 a.m. The ship had received an Omittance from the Port of Tampa and was redirected to the next port for transfer back to Tampa. 
    

  12. On August 06th, at 6:17 p.m. The ship is now seen leaving Florida to head to the next port for transfer back to Tampa. The official term is called "port omittance" 

  13. Today, on August 7th at 11:14 a.m., I was notified by the trucking company, which is scheduled to pick up the container, that this container was omitted from the port due to severe weather conditions with wind gusts above 30 mph. 

  14. Here is a photo showing the ship never made it to Tampa, FL.
    

Here is the what happens next:

The ship will head to the next port (1 day away) and it will load the containers heading to Tampa on a ship (we will know the exact details soon) heading to Tampa. It will then take that ship 3 days to arrive at the Tampa port.

I am being told that this will result in an about 8 day delay.
All orders will be shipped right away the moment they arrive.
All carriers with scheduled pickups have been notified and your new shipping schedule is already made with the carriers.

We are very sorry for this delay and we will add free Air Filters & free Spark plugs to your order when it ships.


UPDATE: the ship is scheduled to arrive to Tampa FL port on August 17th. This is confirmed.


Here are the exact reasons for a port omittance. 
A port "omittance" occurs when a scheduled stop at a port is skipped by a vessel. This can happen due to a variety of reasons, including but not limited to weather delays. Here are the common causes of port omittance:

1. Weather Delays:

  • Severe Weather Conditions: Storms, hurricanes, typhoons, and other extreme weather conditions can make it unsafe for vessels to dock or navigate through certain areas, leading to the decision to omit a port.
  • High Seas and Rough Waters: Adverse sea conditions can delay vessels, causing them to skip certain ports to maintain schedules for other critical ports.
2. Port Shutdowns:

  • Port Shutdowns: Weather, security threats, or other issues leading to the temporary shutdown of a port can result in port omittance.

Here is the proof if you want to see it. 
  1. Here is a copy of my BOL (Bill of lading)
    
  2. Here is the first transfer from the MAERSK ELBA to the MAERSK SEVILLE. This is why all photos above show the Maersk Seville.
    
    
If you have any questions about your order, please call 727-308-0000

 

  • Aug. 5, 6 a.m.: Category 1 Hurricane Debby made landfall near Steinhatchee, Florida, with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph. The storm was moving north-northeast at 10 mph.
  • Aug. 5, 1 a.m.: Hurricane Debby reached its maximum intensity, with 80 mph winds.
  • Aug. 4, 10 p.m.: Tropical Storm Debby strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane about 65 miles west-southwest of Cedar Key, Florida. Debby had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph and was moving north at 12 mph. A Hurricane Warning was issued for the Florida coast between the Suwannee River and Yankeetown.
  • Aug. 4, 4 p.m.: A Hurricane Warning was issued for the Florida coast between the Ochlockonee River and Indian Pass.
  • Aug. 3, 4 p.m.: Tropical Depression Four strengthened into Tropical Storm Debby about 70 miles northwest of Havana, Cuba. Debby had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph and was moving northwest at 15 mph. A Hurricane Warning was issued for the Florida coast from the Suwannee River to the Ochlockonee River.
  • Aug. 2, 10 p.m.: Tropical Depression Four formed in the Caribbean Sea, about 75 miles south of Caibarién, Cuba. The depression had maximum sustained winds of 30 mph and was moving west-northwest at 17 mph.

The above hurricane data came from: https://www.kxan.com/weather/2024-tropical-timeline-tracker/

 

As soon as hurricane Debby makes land fall, you will see a giant tail of storms hitting the Tampa port and tornado watches issued right by the port. This long tail from the hurricane most likely is the reason the ship was unable to port in Tampa. 

 

 

 

UPDATE: 08/12/24 The new ship has been assigned and the container is about to start the journey back to Tampa FL and is scheduled to arrive August 17th at 4am local time.

The name of the ship is BSG Barbados 

Here is a link to track the ship while it heads to Tampa FL.
https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:757808/mmsi:636091308/imo:9333046/vessel:BSG_BARBADOS

The ship is set to depart the port to head to Tampa August 14th 2024.