The four Canadian ships on their way to the U.S. Gulf Coast may have to seek shelter in port or head farther out into the Atlantic to avoid another tropical storm building up off the coast of Florida.

Tropical storm Ophelia, the 15th named storm of the season, was 135 kilometres east-northeast of Cape Canaveral at midday Wednesday and was moving slowly and erratically to the northwest with winds of 80 km/h.

Steve Miller of the Canadian Hurricane Centre in Halifax said he expected the storm to gain hurricane strength by Friday.

The fleet navigating officer on board HMCS Athabaskan said that the convoy was assessing the situation.

Lt. Todd Kennedy said that if they decided not to go into port, they would likely move more than 350 kilometres east of the system where they would experience high winds and waves of two to three metres. "You can expect that the winds are going to pick up, the seas are going to pick up and it might get a little uncomfortable, a little bumpy, but that's normal."

The four Canadian ships -- a destroyer, two frigates and a coast guard vessel -- were expected to arrive in the Gulf Coast region on the weekend, but might be delayed by Ophelia.

The convoy set sail from Halifax on Tuesday after loading supplies during the Labour Day long-weekend.