A boat will leave soon to bring back stranded passengers in Lau if their stricken ship cannot be refloated or repaired.

MV Uluinabukelevu, owned by Valesasa Transportation Company Limited, ran aground on Tuesday night.

The managing director, Ilaitia Caginavanua, said 32 passengers were rescued not 100 as reported by one news organisation. He expressed his gratitude to the Waiqori villagers for going to the rescue and looking after the passengers.

Mr Caginavanua said the Wailevu tug with three divers was on its way to help tow the MV Uluinabukelevu from where it had ran aground.

“The divers will assess the damage and if the ship can continue its trip, it will carry on,” he said.

If it could not, the boat, Liahona, will sail to bring the passengers to Suva.

“The Liahona is in Gau and will be in Suva tomorrow (today).”

He said the MV Uluinabukelevu was surveyed in May. It  has 160 life jackets on board, four life rafts – two could carry 65 people each,  one could carry 35 and another 16.

Mr Caginavanua said they were ready to send a helicopter to evacuate the three pregnant women to Suva.

“The report we got is that no one received serious injury.”

Speaking from Waiqori Village yesterday, 24-year-old Ledua Talei, who is three months pregnant said some of the passengers had jumped to the sea with life jackets and some without.

She said a passenger from Waiqori called someone at the village to tell them they needed their help immediately.

“They came in with their punts and rescued the passengers. They are all safe.”

The Maritime Safety Authority of Fiji (MSAF) chief executive officer John Tunidau yesterday confirmed that they would carry out an investigation on the incident and could not provide any further comments at this stage.

The ship ran aground near Waiqori Village in Oneata, Lau, at about 10pm on Tuesday.

The 32 passengers on board included the two seven-month pregnant women and a three-month pregnant woman.

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