USPS will utilise sea transportation to address the issue of limited air transportation resulting from widespread flight cancellations and restrictions due to COVID-19. This option will remain in effect until sufficient air transportation capacity becomes available.
The first sea transport departed from the JFK International Service Center on April 20, 2020, and is estimated to arrive at the Rotterdam (Netherlands) port on May 7, 2020. Sea route arrival dates are not exact and may vary depending on weather-related events and queuing at the port of arrival. The vessel is carrying 6,036 receptacles in 5 containers weighing 32,768kg. The destination countries affected by this change are Austria, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Poland, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
Shipping mail and parcels via sea transportation can delay and uncertainty to arrival times. Therefore, when calculating estimated delivery times, additional days required for unloading, customs clearance and road transit should be considered.
Source: USPS
