Follow the Effects of Hurricane Sandy on the Shipping Industry on the US. East Coast

Hurricane Sandy began its rampage on the east coast back on October 23^rd. Most of us heard of the start of a Tropical Depression and reports started to circulate about a potential “once in a lifetime” event up the eastern coast of the United States.  Most of us on the east coast, by the end of October, feel the air cool, the leaves turn and the chill of fall strike the air.  None of us even think much about a Hurricane this time of year as the official Hurricane Season was only about three weeks away from being over. But, this was a historical event…

How did this affect ocean cargo and shipping? 

Starting on October 23^rd, this storm was well south of Florida…in fact, directly south.  As the storm traveled north through Jamaica, Cuba and the Bahamas, it caused just minor tidal issues off of the Port of Miami/Palm Beach and Fort Pierce, which caused the Port Capt. to put in place Condition ZULU on October 26^th.  

As the storm continued north, the Port of Norfolk Virginia put Condition ZULU in place on Saturday October 27^th…, this was about the same time, the Coast Guardsman put into place a response exercise in North Carolina…a staging exercise, to ensure they were prepared for a potential disaster response as the storm went north.  Also, Master Carriers started to divert cargo through the Ports of Savannah and Charleston, SC that was previously destined to NYNJ Port; which began taking place on October 25^th. 

Then, as the storm passed Virginia, we saw port closures for days at the Port of Baltimore, Port of Philadelphia and of course, Port of New York and Port of Newark for almost a week.  Subsequently, we saw airport closures some of which lasted 4 days to almost a week. 

Most everyone has seen the personal devastation of the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut shorelines and all of the people affected by the storm. But, for our industry, even almost two weeks since the effects started to become visible, we have cargo needing to be diverted, both Air and Sea Cargo.  

Brokers/Forwarders, Carriers and US Customs having to redo paperwork, redo entries, remove holds, set up new container and shipment moves and the over utilization of road and domestic transportation to ensure cargo is not adversely affected or delayed, especially as the final holiday shipments starts to arrive.  When you see life lost and tragedy, you say, why care about the paperwork and diversion of my shipments?  Well, it’s because lives and livelihood of your staff and clients depend on this.  Your family and personal safety and health are extremely important but you also need to maintain an income and business to stay secure as well. 

The purpose of this piece is simple….many of our company’s do not prepare for this type of situation.  If there is anything we can learn from this it would that disasters happen at any place, at any time…but client satisfaction, business transactions, and freight orders continue and most clients expect delivery, even in these type of tragic situations.  

Start today to get a plan in place for all potential possibilities and ensure that even this type of once in a lifetime situation, your business can survive, your staff will still have jobs and your clients will still get your service…by taking the time to do the plan and test it, you could solidify your business for years to come and your clients and your staff will be more dedicated to you in the process.  

Finally, help out…help a vendor, help a customer, help an organization to get back on their feet.  Do what you can to ensure that the “chain” we work in remains productive and strong. 

Until next time…ARTEMUS OUT!