You need or want a product, but you can’t work out a way to ship it to Majuro or Ebeye. You could mail the item to a friend and ask them to forward it on; sign up for a US post box mail service which costs at least $10 a month; ask the vendor to send it using a courier service (UPS and FedEx are looked after by RRE) or DHL (which is looked after by PII); or have Suka Pacific handle it all for you: Sukapacific@gmail.com.
Katty to the Rescue
KAREN EARNSHAW*
Catherine Murphy-Hardin, a.k.a. Katty, inadvertently became a mail expert because of her father, the late Joe Murphy, who was the founder of The Marshall Islands Journal. “Many, many years ago my Dad would need things shipped from Hawaii.” He’d want cheese for the pizzas at the Marshall Islands Club or a computer for the newspaper, so Katty would buy the cheese and the Mac computer: “I would put everything into a container and go to the airport and find someone who was willing to take it with them. The airline charged $50 and I’d give them a tip of $20 or $25 to take care of the container.”
But those were the simpler days before the 9-11, 2001, suicide attacks on the Twin Towers in New York, which changed many airline rules. After that, the company that “started organically to meet people’s needs” became more complicated, and Katty had to source other methods for sending items to her Dad. “Plus I was doing more of this type of work because Dad would be at the bar and he’d tell his friends that I can ship things to Majuro for them. Back then, getting car parts was something everyone needed.”
Then Joe had a good idea and asked Katty if she’d like him to put an ad in the Journal. “Sure,” she said. “But even with the ad (titled Journal Pickup Services) it took a long time to catch on. For years I was just looking after about five people.”
In 2016, things were picking up and she made the company official, calling it Suka Pacific. “There were many reasons to set up a company,” Katty said. “For example, many companies we were dealing with required a business license. Plus, I was seeing more money come into my banks account and I really wanted to be doing everything the right way, including the tax side of things.”
About 99 percent of what Katty ships is to the Marshall Islands, “but I have a couple of clients in Pohnpei and I’ve shipped to Palau, Taiwan, the Philippines and even Italy.” (See rates and info sheet below.)
About 50 percent of her job is to purchase and ship items to clients, while the other 50 percent is just shipping, with people in RMI ordering items and having them sent to her post box. “Younger people, the millennials, like to do their own shopping, maybe because they like the search part or because they used to live in the US. But older folk and most of the companies I work with prefer me to find the things they want … Even if I’m ordering from Amazon.” These include a number of significant government agencies and private companies.
Many items may seem impossible to ship to the Marshalls, but Katty has learned, the hard, way how to ship just about anything. “There are some items that are difficult to ship, but it’s always possible.” She added that she is trained in dealing with hazmat (hazardous materials) items. “These are mostly sent surface, but it can be really expensive.
Katty uses USPS a lot. “But for items that are called LCL (Less than a Container Load) that are to be shipped as ocean freight, I work with Triple B.” She is also a “Known Shipper” with United Airlines.
While she is busily sending things to RMI, she also has orders for Hawaii products from people in the mainland. “Popular are chocolate-covered macadamia nuts and Hawaiian snacks. And I forward coolers of frozen fish sent to me from Majuro.”
Meanwhile, Katty, who is the daughter of Nertha Ankum, has a full-time administrative job at an Oahu military base. “I do my Suka Pacific work early in the morning, in the evening and every Saturday.” But she’s hoping that in the future she’ll be able to be a full-time post person.
Why won’t Amazon send some purchases to Majuro?
There appears to be a trend that fewer and fewer products can be shipped to the Marshall Islands, particularly items on Amazon. Katty’s belief is that the issue isn’t laws, it’s the choice of the vendors. If the item is to be sent by the vendor, they have to fill out a Customs form, which they don’t have to do for US deliveries. “Believe me, Customs forms take a lot of time!” Also, the cost of shipping from the mainland to the Marshall Islands can be more expensive. Hawaii is in the same zip code zone as the Marshall Islands, which means it’s a domestic rate, but not so the other states. And if the purchaser has Prime, which means free shipping, they are unlikely to want to pay the price, so the purchase is blocked.
* This story was first published in The Marshall Islands Journal in its March 17, 2023 issue. I am the author of this site and I work for the Journal.
