Supplies of fresh foods have been severely hit after vessels bringing produce to Bermuda suffered a series of break-downs and bad weather.

Supermarkets yesterday reported the worst delays in receiving fresh food for years — with some completely without chicken and desperately low on eggs, fruit and vegetables all week.

The delivery from Bermuda Container Lines (BCL) was three days late on the Island this week, with produce expected on Sunday evening only arriving late yesterday afternoon. A similar delay is anticipated next week.

BCL says its usual cargo ship Oleander has been out of action as it undergoes repairs. Contingency plans which would have prevented delays have suffered a string of setbacks, including stormy conditions on the route from Port Elizabeth, New Jersey, and illness to crew members on substitute boats.

The firm’s president Geoffrey Frith yesterday apologised to the public and pledged normal service would resume the week after next. “This week is messed up, next week is messed up — the week after should be back to normal,” said Mr. Frith.

“Bermuda Container Line does apologise to its direct customers, the importers, and the Bermudian public for the bad delays which has and will badly impact the availability of fresh produce and fruits in Bermuda.”

Stores say they have been helped by local farmers, who have stepped up their supply of fresh food where possible.

However, Market Place in Hamilton had no chicken from Monday until well into yesterday, while Front Street’s Supermart had a serious shortage of a range of items.

Supermart general manager David Haskins said: “We are out of some food produce like fruit and vegetables and fresh poultry. For example, where we would normally have a large shelf full of bananas, there are hardly any. It doesn’t help the customers who come here hoping to buy produce, but they have been quite understanding.

“There’s nothing anyone could do about it. This doesn’t happen on a regular basis — it’s years since it happened, and generally the service we get is impressive given that we are in the middle of the Atlantic.”

Mr. Haskins said he expected the shop to be fully stocked throughout the rest of this week. A Market Place staff member said: “We were without chicken for a couple of days. It’s been a setback, but we have coped.”

Things started to go wrong for BCL when Oleander, which sails to Bermuda every week from Port Elizabeth — usually arriving on Sunday evening — was sent to Detyens Yard in Charleston for a long-planned two-week dry docking from March 21 to April 4. Somers Isles was lined up as a replacement for the two voyages>Oleander<$> was expected to miss but, according to Mr. Frith, the service has since then faced one setback after another:

Oleander’s propeller was found to be damaged, meaning new parts had to be flown in from the Netherlands and Somers Isles had to be lined up for a third sailing on Friday, April 6.

[bul]The new parts flown in from the Netherlands were then delayed by a week, meaning repairs could not begin until Friday last w. This delay meant Oleander<$> could not carry out its scheduled sailings last Friday and tomorrow.

[bul]With Somers Isles no longer available, BCL instructed the only replacementssel available, the Caja Countess, which was located in the Caribbean, to sail to Port Elizabeth for last Friday’s service.

s-Regular">lHowever, Caja Countess <$>was slower than expected, meaning it did not arrive in Port Elizabeth until Saturday and did not sail for Bermuda until 4.30 a.m. on Sunday.

-The vessel then encountered the storm which battered the US east coast earlier this week, making for a very slow trip to the Island.

-It arrived on the east end of Bermuda early yesterday, but could not immediately proceed to port because of damage sustained in the storm. It finallyrthed at 4 p.m.

-The Somers Isles was lined up as a substitute for tomorrow’s sailing from Port Elizabeth. However, the vessel’s chief engineer was taken ill. A new chief engineer is being flown in, but the delay means the ship is not expected in Bermuda until the middle of next week — around three days late.

Mr. Frith said: “You could say everything that could go wrong has gone wrong. I’m not sure our customers would agree though and I don’t want it to sound like a tale of woe.

“No sailings have been missed and we don’t intend to miss any. But we’re half a week late. People have been used to having fresh produce on the Sunday evening, but it’s here on the Wednesday instead.

“We are aware it’s had an impact on shoppers. The supermarkets will say it’s down to the lack of service from the shipping line, and they are correct on that.”

BCL’s competitor Bermuda International Shipping makes deliveries to the Island towards the end of each week.