Hurricane Isaias: Storm threatens Bay Area fuel supply and cruise travel

TAMPA, Fla. - Hurricane Isaias is hundreds of miles from Tampa Bay, but disruptions to Gulf oil production and cruise routes could still have local impacts.

Gulf fuel supply lines

What we know:

Isaias strengthened into the first hurricane of the Atlantic season Wednesday night and is forecast to intensify before reaching the northern Gulf Coast late Friday or early Saturday.

Oil and gas producers have already halted about a quarter of Gulf oil production.

The production shutdown has a direct impact in Florida, which has no crude oil refineries or interstate petroleum product pipelines and relies heavily on fuel arriving by ship. Port Tampa Bay handles nearly 15 million tons of petroleum products annually.

Hurricane impact on cruises

Local perspective:

Cruise industry expert Stewart Chiron said Tampa, New Orleans and Galveston are all important cruise ports, but ships have flexibility during storms.

"The beauty of the cruises is they're not stationary. They can be moved in order to avoid inclement weather."

That flexibility extends to fuel. Chiron said ships "can purchase their fuel at alternate ports along the way during the course of the cruise."

For passengers, he recommends monitoring the cruise line directly.

"What people need to be doing is constantly looking at the cruise lines' websites because they will provide updates."

Cruise ships reroute

What we don't know:

Officials have not confirmed how long Gulf oil production will remain offline or whether Isaias will disrupt fuel shipping long-term.  A prolonged disruption could put additional pressure on fuel markets.

Tampa