Fresh food availability in the Cayman Islands was constrained during the peak holiday period due to a combination of logistics issues, according to retail and port officials.
Woody Foster, managing director of supermarket chain Foster's, said a cyber attack affecting Florida-based shipping companies that service Cayman played a limited role. He said the main factors were a vessel breakdown in Miami and insufficient airfreight capacity to compensate, as inbound flights were fully booked during the holiday travel period.
"The cyber attack was not the cause of the produce and other 'out of stock' issues, but it did slightly contribute to it," Foster said. "Basically, it's our busiest time of the year, so heavy sales, but there was a mechanical failure with the boat leaving Miami, and we were unable to get in any additional product by air because the inbound flights were fully booked with incoming travellers."
According to Foster, the supply situation has since improved, with shipments resuming and store inventories being replenished. "Ships are moving, and shelves are being restocked – we had a blip, but it is being addressed," he said.
During the disruption, consumers reported limited availability of fresh fruit and vegetables in some supermarkets, although produce could still be found through alternative outlets. Foster noted that forecasting challenges during the Christmas period contributed to some gaps. "Most of the other shortages are simply the difficulties of getting the orders right over the busy Christmas season, so really the only big issue was produce."
Cayman's Port Authority said the cyber attack impacting shipping firms presented new operational challenges due to its scale. Port supervisor Fitzroy Robinson said the authority maintained cargo flows by adjusting operations during the Christmas period.
"Something of this magnitude hasn't happened before, to our knowledge, but we handled it well," Robinson said. "We jumped on it headfirst, and we managed to keep a continuous flow of cargo by working overtime throughout the Christmas season."
Robinson added that billing operations required manual processing while systems were affected. He said port services are now operating as normal. "As a port, we are good, we are ready, we're waiting to serve."
Industry observers note that cyber attacks tend to rise during holiday periods, with increases of up to 30 per cent reported during peak travel times and weekends. Reduced staffing and higher system loads can increase vulnerability, creating additional pressure on logistics and supply chains reliant on consistent digital operations.
Source: Cayman Compass
