SHIPPING FAQS
Here are some commonly asked questions to streamline your shipping experience.
SHIPPING FAQS
WHAT ADDRESS IN SEATTLE DO I SEND MY SHIPMENT(S) TO?
Warehouse and Breakbulk Terminal: For all Alaska breakbulk, less than container load and household goods shipments, including automobiles destined for SE Alaska
- 9228 10th Ave South
- Seattle, WA 98108
- Open Monday through Friday 7am to 5pm
Central and Western Alaska Yard: For large shipments, including boats, shipper loaded containers and automobiles destined for Central and Western Alaska (including Prince William Sound)
- 6365 1st Avenue South
- Seattle, WA 98108
WHAT ARE THE DIRECTIONS TO THE WAREHOUSE / BREAKBULK TERMINAL?
The warehouse is adjacent to Highway 99, south of downtown Seattle, just north of the SeaTac Airport.
Heading South on Highway 99
- Take the Des Moines Dr exit
- Merge onto Des Moines Dr S
- Turn right onto S 96th St
- Take the second right onto 10th Ave S
- The terminal will be on your right
Heading North on Highway 99
- Take the Des Moines Dr exit
- Merge onto Des Moines Dr S
- Turn right onto S 96th St
- Take the second right onto 10th Ave S
- The terminal will be on your right
HOW DO I PAY FOR MY SHIPMENT?
Prepay (Account not established)
Shipments of Personal Vehicles, Household Goods, and Boats are items that need to be prepaid prior to loading on barge. This can be done either at the port that you are dropping the vehicle off at, or at the port that the vehicle is going to. For example: if the dealership for a vehicle just purchased in Seattle and destined for Cordova, drops the vehicle off, the consignee in Cordova can prepay for the vehicle in the Samson Cordova Office. Payments may be made in the forms of cash, check, credit card or wire transfer.
Freight Collect (Account not established)
For shipments besides those listed above, the freight collect option is one that most customers prefer. When we send a shipment freight collect, it simply gets received and billed out, the consignee must pay the freight charges prior to the release of the freight at it’s destination.
Third Party Billing (Account not established)
If you can’t make it to drop the freight off, or to pick the freight up, you can get a rate from a customer service representative and send a check based on that rate. Please call (206) 767-7820 for more details on this.
Account Customers
Lastly, if an account has been established, Samson will invoice customers net 30 days. Customer agrees to pay all freight bills within thirty (30) days of invoice date, or finance charges in the amount of .0875% per month on outstanding invoices will apply.
HOW SHOULD I HAVE THE PACKAGE MARKED SO THAT THEY KNOW IT'S FOR ME?
If you are having a package sent via UPS, FedEx or another overland carrier, you want to make sure that the shipping label has our address on it, but that is marked attention the consignee. Example:
Samson Tug & Barge
Attn: Jim Smith / Sitka, AK 907.555.5555
9228 10th Ave South
Seattle, WA 98108
IS THERE A FEE FOR HAZARDOUS SHIPMENTS?
We do charge a fee for hazardous shipments, these shipments must be accompanied by the proper paperwork or they will not be received at our dock or warehouse. Please check with the supplier to make sure that they have the information needed to transport hazardous materials. The charges are $17.00 per bill of lading LCL or $72.00 per container load.
SHOULD I MAKE A BOOKING FOR MY SHIPMENT EVEN THOUGH IT'S ONLY A FEW BOXES?
Making a booking for your shipment helps to ensure that it will get to where it is going, be billed to the right party, and that it gets received quickly. Please try to call ahead and make a booking if possible.
WHAT HAPPENS IF THE SHIPMENT ARRIVES JUST MISSING THE VOYAGE THAT IT WAS INTENDED FOR?
We will hold the shipment at our facility until the next sailing. Please refer to our sailing schedule for shipping dates and cut offs to make sure that your shipment arrives on time.