MSAF Steps Up Festive Season Operations
The Maritime Safety Authority of Fiji is calling on members of the public to ensure they adhere to and practise safety at all times while travelling this festive season.
The call comes after its enforcement officers boarded inter-island vessels and highlighted several issues during its festive season operation. Members of the public are advised that any child above the age of one (1-year-old) is counted as a passenger and those below the age of one (1-yearold) are regarded as a minor, as stipulated in the Maritime Transport Act 2013. Therefore, any child above the age of one is required to be registered as a paying passenger. MSAF enforcement officers on duty at Port Mua-i-Walu on Tuesday night were left with no choice but to withhold clearance for a charted trip to proceed after members of the public wanting to board the vessel did not register children on the list submitted to key agencies. MSAF will not hesitate to withhold clearance for any vessel that does not comply with the necessary requirements prior to departure because it will not risk endangering people’s lives during the journey. MSAF’s acting Chief Executive Officer Captain Philip Hill said a reccurring problem was that individuals organising charted trips were not listing children between the ages of one and five on their passenger list.
This, he said, caused problems for enforcement officers during routine boarding checks. “We are talking about safety and in case there is an accident out at sea, children above the age of one are supposed to have their own life jackets, those below the age of one can be supported by an accompanying adult,” Capt Hill said. “That is why members of the public are required to register any child above the age of one as a passenger. This is for safety reasons.”