WIFE WANTS ANSWERS
Maritime Safety Authority of Fiji chairman David Kolitagane says investigations of all maritime incidents and accidents reports are confidential.
“Any information obtained during the course of the investigation or enquiry is confidential and cannot be disclosed to any third party,” Mr Kolitagane said.
“Investigations vary and this will depend on a case by case basis,” he said.
“There is no regulated time line for investigation but MSAF will ensure that in any case, it is not unnecessarily delayed and is dealt with in a timely manner as per our policy.”
Meanwhile there have been three sea mishaps in Fijian waters in the same number of months this year.
The first was the near miss of two inter-island vessels in May which involved Goundar Shipping Company’s Lomaiviti Princess and Inter-Island Shipping Company’s MV Ohana at Nabouwalu. Then in June a bosun died in the Ono-i-Lau waters. The tug boat he was in, had gone to salvage a foreign shipping vessel when the accident happened.
Last month, a fisherman died when the half cabin fishing vessel he was in with another two fishermen was hit by another GSC vessel Joseph P at Nabouwalu.
The two surviving fishermen were treated at the Nabouwalu sub-divisional hospital and discharged.
MSAF conducts training and awareness for boat master license while refresher courses are facilitated by ship owners. Mr Kolitagane said seafarers were taken to task if they were in breach of any maritime law. “Shipping companies also have various policies and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to ensure that their ships operate in a safe manner all the time,” he said.
“These policies are also audited by MSAF annually.
“MSAF is receiving a lot of positive feedback from the public through our enforcement offices. I wish to thank those customers and operators who continue to work closely with MSAF.
“We also encourage the travelling public to share with us any information to help us improve safety for any travel at sea both for small boats as well as bigger vessels.
“We take customer complaints very seriously and we ensure that cases are also addressed amicably with operators.
“We are also working closely with the Consumer Council of Fiji on any customer complaints received.
“This stakeholder engagement and having a holistic approach is key to rebuilding safety of travel at sea.”
Theresa Linda hopes that she would soon receive answers in regards to the death of her husband Sauhili Patrick Tokoara. Her husband died aboard a private owned tug last month.
A foreign fishing boat had ran aground on the Ono-i-Lau reef on June 24 and the salvage team of which Mr Tokoara was the bosun was deployed the next day from Suva.
“All I want is to get answers. So far, no one has updated me anything about the investigation,” Ms Linda said.
“I have a lot of questions and no one is answering them and this makes it hard for me,” she said.
“I hope that the investigation is completed so that I can finally have peace.
“All I want is to know what actually happened that caused the death of my husband.”
Tug owner South Sea Towage general manager David Robertson said they were informed that investigation was still ongoing. He expects it to be finalised soon.
Mr Robertson has agreed to comment after investigation is done by next week.
Maritime Safety Authority of
Fiji (MSAF) board chair David Kolitagane said all investigation reports were confidential.
WATI TALEBULA