‘Life Is Cheap’
MSAF is missing in action, Towler claims
Please don’t go. Three little words from seasoned sailor and maritime Captain Angelo Smith, summed up an incident at a Navutu floating dock that cost the life of a worker. Last Thursday, a vessel drifted to shore after its mooring was dislodged, Captain Smith wrote on his Facebook page.
“The guy who tried it must have been pressured or thought he was losing his job, so he jumped for it,” he said.
The body of the person who jumped into the water was discovered more than 24 hours.
“A simple life jacket would have helped, but we assume we know how to swim, we think we are strong, we are fit, and we are from the sea.”
On the contrary, only fish come from the sea, said the avid seafarer. Captain Smith is often ridiculed for wearing a life jacket when he paddles out on his kayak and when he turns up for work with the same safety gear.
“You can’t fight against the current and waves for very long, fatigue kicks in, lactic acid releases, you end up not being able to lift your hands or kick feet, then slowly succumb to it and drown,” Captain Smith said.
“During this windy and rough weather, we are experiencing in the West, please be careful, take care of the children, and safety first.
“All material things can be replaced. Don’t underestimate the power of nature.”
‘Just waiting for the next accident’
Life is cheap, said the Southern Hemisphere’s largest manufacturer of life jackets.
Performance Flotation Development Fiji Limited - a Suva-based factory that manufactures and exports lifejackets - has campaigned for safety gear at sea.
Time and again it called on maritime authorities to do its job, which he maintained was still not being carried out diligently.
“It’s just waiting for the next accident and drowning to happen,” managing director Mike Towler said. In recent months, SunBiz received mounting concerns over the lack of use of lifejackets on open vessels at sea, particularly after two lives were claimed in a drowning accident off the Yasawas last Christmas.
This year, a handful of Government ministers were spotted disregarding the one essential rule - safety first at sea - despite calls for improved safety measures from Maritime Safety Authority of Fiji.
It sent the wrong message, authorities said.
Among government ministers cited were Sakiasi Ditoka and Manoa Kamikamica, both of whom offered an apology for the oversight, and a promise not to repeat.
Many other examples of such footage can be found on government websites including Fijian Broadcasting Corporation.
‘Missing in action’
On March 5, images surfaced on the Ministry of Fisheries Facebook page of oyster farming in Nasavu, Vanua Levu, where again life jackets were not used.
Maritime Safety Authority of Fiji’s three-month grace period, for all water safety measures to be brought up to speed, ends in May, after which heavy penalties will be imposed.
The authority’s chief executive officer Joeli Cawaki said infringement notices would be issued thereafter for non-compliance. “When we continually see Government ministers riding in open fibre glass boats without any basic safety equipment (lifejackets), and boat operators overloading vessels with impunity, then we can only conclude MSAF is missing in action when it comes to policing the maritime regulations,” Mr Towler said.