The cargo included basic necessities for 500 families and two water-treatment units provided by the French Red Cross, a ministry spokesman said.

Half the aid brought in by the ship, which was deployed from the nearby French West Indies, was donated by the UN, including emergency supplies from the World Food Programme.

Melissa, a record-setting hurricane, hit Jamaica on October 28, demolishing towns and leaving at least 28 people dead across the island.

It also wreaked damage across Haiti and Cuba.