PHILIPSBURG--Month-end shoppers were greeted by near-bare fresh produce shelves at some supermarkets this week.
The Daily Herald understands that the shipment of containers with tons of fresh produce for some supermarkets and wholesalers had been delayed, and according to one supermarket owner, the delay has been attributed to a damaged vessel.
It is not clear whether the vessel was damaged during the passing of Hurricane Irene, which barrelled up the US East Coast last weekend and caused extensive damage.
This newspaper's efforts to ascertain the exact cause of the delay and the extent of the problem from the shipping company on Wednesday were futile.
Officials at the company's St. Maarten office said all comments had to be obtained from the company's Palm Beach offices in Florida. Up to press time there was no response to an email to this office with questions seeking clarity.
Steven Huang, owner of Sunny Foods Supermarket on A. Th. Illidge Road, said a vessel with containers of fresh produce for his and other establishments was scheduled to arrive in St. Maarten last Sunday night, and supermarkets were supposed to have received their containers by Monday.
Huang said initially he had been told that the vessel had sustained some damage and the container would arrive on Tuesday. He was subsequently told that it would arrive this coming weekend.
Huang said he is in a predicament because the shelf-life of some of the items such as some fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, deli products, milk and dairy products would be near the end of their shelf-life. This could severely limit how much of the produce and products he might be able to sell, thereby causing the supermarket to incur significant losses.
He also said that he expects another regular shipment of fresh produce this weekend, this would result in the supermarket being overstocked until his next fresh produce shipment.
Huang said while the shipping company is supposed to have insurance coverage for situations such as the current one, insurance covers only a small part of the actual losses. He said that to date, the shipping company has not given him any clear answers on how he will be compensated.
He said three years ago when his container had been mistakenly shipped to St. Thomas, he had received only US $9,000 compensation when the freight cost alone was US $5,000 and he had lost more than US $20,000 in items.
"It's not me alone that is affected," he said. "This affects the entire island because containers for others are also on the ship."
Oscars Niclas Alexandersson Mark Bright Robert Schumann Dorset Internet
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