FIDI Affiliates in Venezuela are continuing to operate despite widespread disruption caused by devastating earthquakes on 24 June, which left at least 3,500 people dead and many more injured.
Iramar Alemán, Executive Director of JJ Marí International Movers, said the company was facing ‘significant challenges’ in the Caracas and La Guaira areas, with ‘ongoing local infrastructure assessments and intermittent disruptions to public services and mobility’. However, she added: ‘Our facilities are 100% operational. The team is now fully back and working from the office.’
Some of the company’s staff have suffered damage to their homes, Alemán said, but all its employees and their families are safe.
The company has introduced safety checks before collections and deliveries can take place, and is ensuring properties have been inspected and cleared before crews enter.
With the Port of La Guaira and Maiquetía International Airport still closed, Venezuela’s customs authorities have returned to administrative work, Alemán added. As a contingency measure, import and export shipments are being diverted through the Port of Puerto Cabello, with containers transferred under National Guard escort until normal operations resume.
Caracas-based Mudanzas Internacionales said its staff were also safe, and that its offices and warehouse are fully operational.
The company’s Zenaida Romero said cargo already bound for Venezuela is being rerouted to alternative ports in Valencia and Puerto Cabello.
For packing and collection, she added: ‘We are continuously monitoring transit times and available routes. We will notify bookings of any necessary adjustments before providing the green light to ship towards either La Guaira or Puerto Cabello.
‘We will only authorise loading and dispatch from origin once we have fully verified that it is completely safe and viable to proceed.’
International relief efforts are being supported by JJ Marí, added Alemán.
‘We are coordinating crucial logistics and transport support for international Urban Search and Rescue missions from diplomatic delegations, such as the embassies of Germany and the Netherlands, deploying transport units, field coordinators and translators,’ she said. ‘Additionally, our company, as an institution, and our team members, on a personal level, are actively channelling donations of essential goods.’
Despite the force majeure circumstances, Alemán said JJ Marí is still operating under the same high safety standards and is working closely with its international partners. ‘We deeply appreciate the solidarity and continuous care from the FIDI network,’ she said, ‘as well as the invaluable support that the international community is providing to Venezuela during this challenging time.’