‘Practise due diligence’
THE Maritime Safety Authority of Fiji has requested that ship operators, ship agents and stakeholders practise due diligence during this festive season.
MSAF says it will monitor the movement of passengers and crew before departure and on arrival at all local ports to ensure safety is not compromised.
In an effort to maintain the highest level of safety, MSAF has increased manpower at busy ports to facilitate a swift flow of operations during the festive period.
“Ship operators and owners are once again reminded of the need to ensure that the safety of passengers and crew are not taken lightly, and that passengers travel in reasonable comfort,” an MSAF statement read.
“Therefore, members of the public should expect to see an increase in MSAF enforcement officers at local wharves and jetties as they keep a watchful eye on issues that may compromise safety.”
Ship operators, owners and agents have also been reminded about issues relating to overloading.
“Breaching the figure stated on the survey certificate may result in the detention of the vessel until it complies with the requirements stipulated in the Maritime Transport Act 2013. Overloading of passengers can cause overcrowding, which affects the safety of all onboard and impacts on how effective the crew can respond in mitigating possible adverse situations concerning passengers.”
Under the maritime laws, shipping companies and or operators may face fines, detention of ships, risk of losing licences, and further court action, for breaches such as overloading.
Passenger vessels should have adequate lifesaving appliances onboard the vessel for its passengers.
“Members of the travelling public should also note that MSAF enforcement officers have the right, by law, to stop any member of the public from boarding a ship if overloading occurs. On that note, ship owners/operators ought to ensure that the number of passenger tickets sold correlates with the accepted number of passengers allowed to board the ship for a given voyage,” MSAF warned.
“Affected passengers are advised to contact the shipowners, operators and agents accordingly to facilitate further travel if they are stopped from boarding due to overloading.” The Authority will take the necessary steps to ensure that safety at sea is not compromised.
Meanwhile, two shipping operators are currently under the radar for breaching consumer rights and consumer protection laws.
This was confirmed by the Consumer Council of
Fiji chief executive officer Seema Shandil.
Accordingly, the council has advised the thousands of Fijians who plan to travel via inter-island shipping vessels to be “assertive” and “always demand a receipt”.
The council said interisland shipping providers were not issuing proof of purchase such as receipts. One operator did not provide quotation on the cost of transporting goods, thus increasing the cost considerably during boarding.
Ms Shandil said shipping operators needed to either provide a receipt or a duplicate copy of the ticket that consumers could keep, which was the usual practice by most shipping companies.
“It is bewildering that the inter-island shipping operator in question is only providing one copy of the ticket to its customers which are collected by the vessel staff during boarding, leaving them with no proof of the money spent and no avenues for redress if there is a need,” said Ms Shandil.
The council has flagged the matter to the Fijian Competition and Consumer Commission for enforcement action as it breached the FCCC Act 2010.
“Not issuing proof of purchase such as receipts is clearly a breach of the FCCC Act. Hence, the council has flagged the matter to its custodian, expecting enforcement action against the interisland shipping operator,” Ms Shandil said.
The council has also received complaints from customers in relation to increased cost of transporting certain goods. When customers called the service provider, they were given a verbal quote which dramatically increased during boarding.
“This above case demonstrates that the shipping operator has no cost structure in place but simply dictates cost on a whim; whatever may seem profitable to them. This is an outrageous breach of consumer rights and amounts to unconscionable conduct.”
Consumers facing similar issues are encouraged to contact the council on toll-free line 155 or lodge a complaint using the Consumer Council of Fiji mobile app.