Chunghwa Post confirmed yesterday that it lost more than 1,000 pieces of mail and packages in a shipwreck last week, adding that it would seek compensation from the cargo ship company.
This was the second time that the postal company lost mail and parcels in a shipping accident this year.
In January, the Chia Ming cargo ship, which was hired by Chunghwa Post to deliver mail between Taiwan and Penghu County, was grounded and sank near Dongji Island (東吉嶼) after the propeller became entangled in a net.
The ship was carrying 930 pieces of mail and 231 packages, most of which belonged to National Penghu University of Science and Technology students who were sending personal belongings home before the winter vacation.
Chunghwa Post again hired the Chia Ming to deliver mail earlier this month. However, on Friday last week it ran aground and sank, resulting in the loss of 144 packages, 923 pieces of registered mail, a bag of air mail items and a bag of regular mail.
Senders of these letters and packages would be compensated according to postal service regulations, the company said, adding that the value of the goods lost in the shipwreck could be more than NT$10 million (US$324,065).
Chunghwa Post spokeswoman Chien Liang-lien (簡良璘) said that it received NT$871,494 in compensation from the shipping firm following the January accident, adding that it won the government contract through a public tender this month.
The postal company is considering renegotiating the terms of the contract and raising the amount of compensation it receives for financial losses incurred in shipwrecks, she said.
The company would compensate the senders based on declared value of goods contained in the lost mail or parcels, Chien said.
Senders who did not declare the value of goods contained in their packages would be compensated based on package weight instead, Chien said, adding that compensation for packages weighing under 5kg would be NT$575, while senders of packages weighing between 5kg and 10kg would receive NT$865.
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