Sea mail is temporarily suspended as Australia Post tries to crack down on prohibited items
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Members, we hope you weren't planning on sending or receiving sea mail anytime soon because it looks like that service has hit a snag.
Australia Post has announced that it will be temporarily suspending its incoming sea mail service, effective immediately. This follows an increase in the number of prohibited items being shipped into Australia.
For those who are new to the term, 'sea mail' refers to a cheaper and slower postage option for sending packages from one country to another by boat instead of by plane. In most cases, this delivery method takes about two months – which is why it's not as popular as airmail, which only takes a few days.
But with recent COVID-19 air travel restrictions putting a damper on aircraft capacity, more people have been turning to sea mail as an alternative means of posting their letters and parcels.
As a result, there's been an increase in the volume of sea mail arriving on Australian shores – and unfortunately, many of these items are contraband.
Australia Post has temporarily halted sea mail delivery due to an increase in prohibited items. Credit: News.com.au.
An Australia Post spokesperson told news sources that the suspension is only temporary and that they're working hard to get the service up and running again as soon as possible – hopefully, before Christmas arrives.
'Australia Post currently has only one facility capable of managing sea mail, and significant delays and safety concerns have been experienced due to the volume of prohibited items arriving and requiring intervention,' said the representative.
So if you were hoping to send any overseas gifts via this method, you might want to start making other arrangements now!
In the meantime, there's no need to worry about any sea mail that's already in transit, as those items will still be processed as normal. And, of course, you can still send items to and from Australia by airmail without any issue.
Australia Post acknowledges and apologises for any trouble this may have caused, and we, here at the SDC, will make sure to keep you all informed as things develop.
Australia Post has announced that it will be temporarily suspending its incoming sea mail service, effective immediately. This follows an increase in the number of prohibited items being shipped into Australia.
For those who are new to the term, 'sea mail' refers to a cheaper and slower postage option for sending packages from one country to another by boat instead of by plane. In most cases, this delivery method takes about two months – which is why it's not as popular as airmail, which only takes a few days.
But with recent COVID-19 air travel restrictions putting a damper on aircraft capacity, more people have been turning to sea mail as an alternative means of posting their letters and parcels.
As a result, there's been an increase in the volume of sea mail arriving on Australian shores – and unfortunately, many of these items are contraband.
Australia Post has temporarily halted sea mail delivery due to an increase in prohibited items. Credit: News.com.au.
An Australia Post spokesperson told news sources that the suspension is only temporary and that they're working hard to get the service up and running again as soon as possible – hopefully, before Christmas arrives.
'Australia Post currently has only one facility capable of managing sea mail, and significant delays and safety concerns have been experienced due to the volume of prohibited items arriving and requiring intervention,' said the representative.
So if you were hoping to send any overseas gifts via this method, you might want to start making other arrangements now!
In the meantime, there's no need to worry about any sea mail that's already in transit, as those items will still be processed as normal. And, of course, you can still send items to and from Australia by airmail without any issue.
Australia Post acknowledges and apologises for any trouble this may have caused, and we, here at the SDC, will make sure to keep you all informed as things develop.
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