UPS Misses The Boat On Booking Ferry Tickets To Nantucket, Businesses Concerned
BOSTON (CBS) - Steamship Authority ferries are about to embark on a blockbuster summer season on Nantucket, with a waning pandemic, and record visitors expected. There's just one problem. It appears shipping giant United Parcel Services missed the boat on booking ferry tickets.
In the fall, the Steamship Authority sends reservation paperwork to shipping companies. Then, the shippers respond with ferry reservations before tickets are sold to the public in January. Somehow, that did not happen for UPS and now boats are almost at capacity.
"We are completely dependent upon UPS as our lifeblood for incoming shipments and outgoing shipments," said Harris Doliner, a partner at the Vis a Vis clothing boutique on Main Street on Nantucket.
Doliner says UPS makes up 75% of the shop's total shipping process.
"From the middle of April to the end of August, UPS delivers us packages here in the store twice a day. Once in the morning and once in the afternoon. The average shipment contains anywhere between eight to ten cartons. It's a lifeblood to give our customers new product," Doliner said.
A spokesperson for UPS said, "UPS has ferry reservations and is working on other transportation options to ensure packages are delivered on time to the island during the busy summer season."
The Steamship Authority spokesperson said he cannot comment on specific customers but, "When issues related to delivering the necessities of life or freight crucial to supporting the economy of the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, we understand the importance of those shipments and work with customers to find solutions."
Doliner says a solution must be reached and sooner rather than later.
"I think everybody is feeling optimistic that something will be worked out. It just has to be," he said.