Last night, a marine salvage team from New Zealand arrived to assess the situation after the MV Southern Phoenix sank in Suva Harbour yesterday morning.

This was confirmed by Fiji Ports Corporation Limited chief executive officer Vajira Piyasena.

At around 3am, at Port of Suva, it was noticed that the vessel was beginning to tilt to one side, said a statement from vessel owner Cruz Holdings Limited.

“After the completion of loading on Friday night at the main wharf, the vessel developed a list (tilt) to port, and later sank after being moved from the main wharf,” the company statement said.

“The cause of this incident is unknown at this time, and the matter is being looked into and will be investigated by the company and the relevant authorities.

“The company has activated its tugs and barges to collect all the containers and other items currently floating in the harbour.”

It confirmed that they had also engaged commercial divers to seal all vents in order to minimise oil and fuel spillage in the harbour.

Mr Piyasena said the vessel owner would deal with salvaging the vessel.

“Yes they will deal with the cost and they have already contacted the salvaging people from New Zealand. They will be arriving tonight (Saturday) and they will be making an assessment.”

Yesterday, around 20 containers were seen floating, with the ship having sunk.

Mr Piyasena said the salvage would be done gradually and believes that the vessel has no major damage externally.

He said they could not confirm the contents of the cargo, but added a team had worked since Friday to move the vessel from the wharf before it affected future operations.

“Our major problem has been resolved. The ship was taken into a position where salvaging can be done,” Mr Piyasena said.

He said it was too early to determine the cost of the damage because it was still being assessed by the company.

MV Southern Phoenix was expected to leave for Tarawa, Kiribati, yesterday according to its schedule.

Fiji Ports Terminal Limited operations manager Nabeer Ali said the vessel was ready for sailing with all its cargo operations completed when the incident happened.

He also said it was too early to determine the cause of the incident.

Police spokesperson, Ana Naisoro confirmed that the ship was later towed out of the port area by marine tug boats and finally sank off Stinson Parade.

She said the scene was visited by the investigation officer, fire personnel and Maritime Safety Authority of Fiji.

According to the shipping schedule, the vessel was expected to depart for Tarawa in Kiribati in the weekend.

Background and details

The 89-metre MV Southern Phoenix is a container/general cargo vessel. It has been operating charter services for Pacific Direct Line between Fiji, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Kiribati, according to the Cruz Holdings website.

Media Release from the Fiji Ports Corporation Limited on the Sinking Of The Cargo Ship “ Southern Phoenix”:

Edited by Ranoba Baoa

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