Ads by Google Ads by Google

Postal service: Ocean freight is here, ready for pick up

blue@samoanews.com

There’s good news for local residents who ordered items online during the month of November and had their stuff shipped in via ocean freight.

The containers have been unloaded and postal workers have been working ‘round the clock’ to sort through the packages and have them ready for pick-up this week.

Samoa News spoke to local Postmaster Tao Suani yesterday and she confirmed that during the three weeks leading up to the hectic Christmas weekend, the local post office unloaded a total of 87,000 pounds of mail. (33,000lbs. the first week, 30,000lbs. the second week and 24,000lbs. the week of Christmas).

The figures, Suani clarified, only pertain to items brought in through the weekly cargo flights, and does not include mail that is delivered via Hawaiian Airlines.

Last weekend, the local post office extended its hours, staying open late on Christmas Eve, and even opening for two hours on Sunday, Christmas Day, to accommodate those who were waiting anxiously for holiday gifts.

On Christmas Eve, the pick-up line for parcels looped around the post office, all the way to the main road, facing the Jean P. Hayden Museum. People waited patiently in line as postal workers tried their best to get everyone’s mail out in a timely fashion.

When asked about their hours for this weekend, Suani said they will open tomorrow, as usual from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m., although this may change, depending on the whether or not the cargo flight from Honolulu arrives on time as scheduled today — at 2 p.m.

She said if everything goes as planned, all the mail should be sorted and ready for pick up tomorrow.

The Post Office will close on Sunday and Monday, but Suani pointed out that “this is only if the cargo flight is not delayed.” She added, “We never know until the day of the flight, whether it will be on time or not.”

For those who ordered items online during the month of December and had them shipped via ocean freight, the next container is expected to arrive next month.

Suani said containers used to come in twice a month but lately, they have only been receiving them once a month.

She explained that the Postal Service does not ship a container until it is full.

Suani expects today’s cargo flight to carry about the same amount of mail as Christmas time, as some people still have not received the things they ordered for the holidays.

Those whose parcels have been lost in transit are encouraged to file a claim online at <www.usps.gov>

The local Post Office employs seven clerks, not including Suani, and there were no seasonal or part-time hires for the holidays