Herakles (pusher) the fuel supply and lubrication system due to the violent pitching of the vessel were not ruled out. On 2 March 2004 the weather in the Bothnian Sea gradually developed into a force 10 storm on the Beaufort scale, with average wind speed around and gusts exceeding . At midnight, shortly before "Herakles-Bulk" sank, the ten-minute average at Svenska Högarn was with three-second gusts of almost . The freezing temperatures combined with strong wind and high waves resulted in fast icing of the ship structures. In 1992 the Finnish Maritime Administration issued a wind limit of for "Herakles" due to
1932 Bahamas hurricane the churches were reportedly carried . Newspaper reports and photos helped to establish estimated prevailing winds on Green Turtle Cay that possibly exceeded during the hurricane. After the storm passed Abaco on September 6 and 7, several vessels caught in the storm recorded winds of Force 12 (Beaufort Wind Scale) and low barometric pressures; the steamship "Yankee Arrow" recorded a pressure of on September 7, while the nearby steamship "Deer Lodge" reported a lower pressure of . Although storm warnings were posted for the Florida and eastern United States coastline, the storm's recurvature prevented a landfall, leaving the main effects