Shipping: Weather delays ships

Powerful weather fronts are wreaking havoc with the schedules of ships in the Atlantic this week.

The Panama-flagged vessel Fanja has been forced to divert into Bermuda today for extra fuel.

The ship, which is carrying steel from the Azores to Virginia, has been burning more fuel than expected as she battled against the elements on her voyage across the Atlantic.

She is due into the commercial berth in Dockyard this morning and is scheduled to depart for Newport News in the US tomorrow.

Meanwhile, bad weather pushed the Oleander’s arrival time into Hamilton back by a day earlier this week.

She normally comes alongside on Monday, but ended up arriving in the capital yesterday instead.

The tough sailing conditions on the upper east coast did not affect the Florida-based Somers Isles and she was able to get in ahead of her expected Tuesday slot.

She took the Oleander’s place and arrived in Hamilton on Monday afternoon.

The Bermuda Islander has managed to stay on schedule despite the adverse weather conditions and is back in tomorrow morning. n