Blogs
Shipping Incident bulletin 28th June 2019
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This week’s bulletin contains updates about: Italy, Cyprus, Poland, Hong Kong, China, Bhutan, USA, Australia, Brunei, Nicaragua, Tunisia, Turkey.
Italy
Start date: 8th June
End date: 25th June
Airport works affect postal operations: Poste Italiane indicated that postal operations in the region of Sardinia, Italy, hsve been affected by the night-time closure of Cagliari airport for urgent works. Postal services in the postal code areas 07010 to 09199 may have experienced a 24-hour delay from June 8 to June 25.
Cyprus
Start date: 25th June
End date: 25th June
Post offices close due to public holiday: On June 24, Cyprus Post indicated that June 25 has been declared a public holiday following the death of the former President of the Republic, Demetris Christiofas. Post offices, the office of exchange and delivery units will remain closed on that day.
Poland
Start date: 28th June
End date: 28th June
Truck drivers to go on strike: the Polish Transport Union called for a general strike on June 28. More than 7,000 truck drivers will go on strike against the EU Mobility Package Form adopted in early April. Truckers from other European countries are likely to participate in the strike.
Hong Kong, China
Start date: 21st June
End date: 24th June
The designated operator of Hong Kong, China, Hongkong Post, asks us to inform other Union member countries that all postal services and operations are back to normal.
Bhutan
Start date: 25th June
End date: Ongoing
The designated operator of Bhutan, Bhutan Post, informs that it has been experiencing delivery challenges since Tuesday, 25 June 2019 as a result of the monsoon onset. The heavy rain has triggered landslides, which have blocked roads in most parts of the country, thus affecting the on-time delivery of all inbound mail (letter-post, parcels and EMS items). The Royal Government of Bhutan is doing its utmost to restore road connectivity in the affected areas. However, it will be difficult to do so until the weather conditions have improved and heavy rains are forecast for the next 24 hours.
United States
Start date: 25th June
End date: Ongoing
Flooding affects road traffic:Â flooding following heavy rainfall has been causing substantial disruption in the Rio Grande Valley area, United States. Flooding has particularly affected south-eastern Hidalgo County, north-western Cameron County and south-western Willacy County. Multiple roads have been closed and significant delays are being reported along major interstates.
Australia
Start date: 21st June
End date: Ongoing
Volcano ash causes postal delays: a volcanic ash cloud on the way to Sydney Airport has caused detours and longer shipping times for mail and packages. The situation is gradually normalizing; however, capacity remains limited due to the backlog.
Brunei
Start date: 21st June
Expected end date: 30th June
Postal services disrupted in Brunei: On June 21, sources indicated that the delivery of mail and parcels to Brunei has been disrupted. The route to Brunei is expected to reopen by the end of June. Therefore delivery of mail and parcels will be delayed for at least two weeks.
Nicaragua
Start date: 26th June
Expected end date: 30th June
Postal services disrupted in Nicaragua: On June 26, sources indicated that the delivery of mail and parcels to Nicaragua has been disrupted. The route to Nicaragua is expected to reopen by the end of July. All mail and parcels will be stored until a route is available again.
Tunisia
Start date: 27th June
End date: Ongoing
Custom clearance processes suspended: customs clearance processes of cargo have been suspended at Tunis-Carthage International Airport following a fatal attack in the city centre. All inbound and outbound cargo is currently held at the airport until the further notice.
Turkey – Customs
Start date: 1st June
The  designated  operator  of  TURKEY  wishes  to  inform  the  designated operators  of  other  Union  member  countries  that  the  customs  duty
exemption  limit  for  the  value  of  postal  items  containing  books  or other printed publications for personal  use is 150 EUR, whereas the exemption  for  postal  items  containing goods/commodities  of  a  value below  22  EUR  has  been  removed.  In  accordance  with  new  legislation, as  of  1  June  2019,  all  inbound  postal  items  containing  goods  shall
be  submitted  to  Customs,  and  customs  duty  shall  be  applied  on  the content value at the rate of 18% for EU countries and 20% for non-EU countries. Therefore, it is very important that designated operators take all necessary steps to ensure that the CN 22, CN 23 and CP 72 customs  declaration  forms  are  duly  completed  in  accordance  with article  20-001  of  the Regulations to  the  Convention.  Incomplete, incorrectly  completed,  or  missing  customs  declarations  may  cause delays in delivery.
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Technical problems
United States
Start date:Â 15th March
End date: 26th June
The designated operator of United States of America, the United States Postal Service (USPS), informs that the IT problems that were affecting the generation of EDI messages have been resolved. USPS operations have returned to normal.
Italy
Start date: 22nd June
End date: 23rd June
EDI transmission likely to be disrupted: On June 19, Poste Italiane indicated that the transmission of EDI messages will likely be affected due to the management upgrade for parcel products on June 22 and June 23.