Detention Notice Given for Lomaiviti Princess III

A detention notice has been issued to Goundar Shipping’s Lomaiviti Princess III following the latest incident that left close to 200 people onboard stranded for 17 hours on March 10, 2024.

This has been imposed while the Maritime Safety Authority of Fiji continues investigations.

A week after the incident, one of the passengers on the Lomaiviti Princess III, who chose to remain anonymous, looked back on the “17-hour ordeal”.

It ended when the Lomaiviti Princess VII towed the Lomaiviti Princess III vessel after it was stalled due to engine failure, and electricity and water interruptions.

The woman and her family were accompanying the Malolo Women’s and Men’s 15s rugby teams back to Viti Levu from a tournament in Kadavu.

17-hour ordeal

Passengers boarded at 7pm on Saturday (March 9, 2024) and left Kadavu at 9pm with the expected arrival time of 3am on Sunday, she said.

“Around 3am, people were fast asleep, while others were drinking grog when the vessel’s engine went off and the lights, A/C and toilets went out of service.

“The passengers woke up and asked what had happened and we were told it was an engine problem and we thought it would just be like the same problem we faced on our way to Kadavu.”

The woman said their trip from Suva to Kadavu encountered some delays, which meant they arrived in Kadavu three hours later than the expected time.

She claimed they started drifting back into Kadavu waters for three hours until another Goundar Shipping vessel from Lau, Lomaiviti Princess VII came to tow them back to Suva.

“It took another hour for the crew to catch the rope the rescue vessel was throwing until a girl took off her dress and jumped overboard to get the rope across.

“After she was rescued back on board, a crew came to us in the lounge asking for a blanket for them to cover the girl that jumped overboard so I gave my son’s blanket to her.”

The situation at sea took a toll on some passengers.

“People were complaining, babies were crying, visibly exhausted and their parents were frustrated..we wanted to use the restrooms, but it was all dark because there was no electricity and phone service.

“They provided coffee and biscuits, but it wasn’t enough, and we bought a bottle of water for $8 before it was given to us for free later to share between us all.”

She said they turned to prayer, and that morning Malolo’s senior teams and Under 20s had a morning devotion at the top deck of the vessel.

“We just trusted God at that time, nobody else.”

A separate marine notice was issued on March 15 to all ship owners, operators, masters, and officers about the importance of maintaining the proper condition of machinery onboard vessels.

MSAF urged compliance with several directives related to safety and the upkeep of ship facilities, including providing adequate ventilation onboard, maintaining a high standard of housekeeping and the continuous operation of the engine supply, backup generators, emergency generators and other critical machinery.

MSAF said it was conducting random Flag State inspections of all ships to ensure conditions onboard were compliant and met safety standards.

Goundar Shipping vessels have come under renewed scrutiny in recent months. In January this year, the company’s Lomaiviti Princess 9 hit a reef in Lomaloma Vanuabalavu and the Lomaiviti Princess 1 developed mechanical issues when it was travelling from Kadavu to Suva.

“Last December, Lomaiviti Princess 1 faced similar problems and had to be towed to Savusavu.

Mr Wiliame declined to comment on ongoing investigations into these other Goundar Shipping-related incidents in the last few months.

Feedback: jernese.macanawai@fijisun.com.fj

https://poll.app.do/embed/fiji-s-current-inflation-levels-in-2024