Following service interruptions due to Hurricane Lane, post offices on all islands except Molokai and Lanai will operate in at least partial capacity today, the U.S. Postal Service announced.
All post offices on Oahu, Maui and Kauai will provide mail delivery, although there will be no retail services or mail pickup from USPS mailboxes.
On Hawaii island, the Pepeekeo post office will remain closed due to water damage from the storm. All other post offices on the island will provide mail delivery. There will be no retail services or mail pickup from USPS mailboxes.
Matson back to unloading containers
Matson Inc. resumed service at its terminals in Hawaii on Saturday for the first time since the threat posed by Lane passed, allowing the state’s largest ocean shipping company to begin unloading cargo for customers.
The U.S. Coast Guard began closing state ports to commercial operations on Thursday because of the potential for damaging winds from the approaching hurricane.
Matson said it continued sailing its vessels between the West Coast and Hawaii during storm preparations to position cargo for distribution as soon as the ports reopened.
Service resumed at 7 a.m. Saturday with the barge Columbia docking in Hilo with 117 containers onboard.
On Maui, the barge Haleakala arrived about noon in Kahului with 87 loaded containers for customers.
In Honolulu, the Mahimahi arrived at 11 a.m. to unload 615 containers after delivering 537 containers before the port closed Thursday. The barge Waialeale was scheduled to depart Saturday night from Honolulu for Nawiliwili with 60 containers aboard.
Also on Saturday, the company began a recovery plan with five container ships carrying a total of 3,500 loaded containers scheduled for discharge in Honolulu through Wednesday.
Pearl Harbor Shipyard returns to normal
Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, the state’s largest industrial employer, returned to normal operations Saturday after earlier telling its workforce that regularly scheduled work Friday and Saturday was canceled due to Lane.
The shipyard advised workers Friday via Facebook to return to their jobs effective the first shift Saturday after the hurricane broke apart and became a tropical storm, then headed west and away from Oahu.
The shipyard has nearly 6,000 civilian and military workers.