TROPICAL SHIPPING HELPING ISLAND COMMUNITIES RECOVER FROM IRMA

Headquartered in Riviera Beach and having served The Bahamas and Caribbean for more than 5 decades, Tropical Shipping has felt the impact of many hurricanes. Hurricanes Irma and Maria were unprecedented, however. The two category 5 storms made landfall in the Caribbean Sea and Florida, wreaking havoc on 13 of the islands that Tropical Shipping regularly sails to. As a regional logistics provider and ocean freight carrier for the importation of vital goods primarily from south Florida to the Caribbean region and Bahamas, Tropical has a business continuity plan in place. They closely monitor the path of storms and make changes to ensure their vessels, crew and all employees are safe during the passage of a tropical cyclone. Immediately following the storms, the rapid and reliable movement of goods is a lifeline to the affected island communities. Their leadership and all of their employees worked tirelessly to quickly restore their services and deliver cargo for both urgent, immediate needs and for the long term rebuilding of their communities. With safe entry into their ports of call, their ships were loaded with containers packed with essential supplies for the islands they serve. Their goal at that critical time was to immediately enable the rapid flow of cargo. They sailed their first vessel on September 6, four days after Irma and as soon as the U.S. Coast Guard cleared the Port of Palm Beach to open. From September 6 through September 27, Tropical made 55 vessel arrivals at the hurricane affected ports. Their vessel was the first to arrive in Dominica with relief supplies. Since the immediate aftermath of the storms, recovery and rebuilding needs remain strong. Tropical added capacity to it’s supply chain with 4 vessels, the Katherina B, the Runa, the Asian Sun and the Sandwig. They added 602 containers and 40 more are on the way; 270 flatracks have been added with 30 more coming; and 120 more chassis are now on board with 46 more expected. Tropical Shipping works with relief agencies and offers special shipping rates to those agencies and to anyone shipping relief supplies. Employees are ready to assist businesses, government emergency management agencies and authorized community relief organizations in securing supplies for the affected area so that recovery and rebuilding can continue. Tropical Shipping is committed to bringing much needed relief, recovery and rebuilding supplies to our island communities. They are committed to island life. To learn more about Tropical Shipping, you can visit their website at www. tropical.com. For hurricane related updates from Tropical Shipping, you can visit their Hurricane Central webpage at www.tropical.com/news.