New ferry arrangement will keep Taveuni produce moving: Tunabuna

The Government says it is working to ensure farmers in Taveuni and other outer islands can continue moving their produce to market despite ongoing shipping disruptions affecting Fiji’s maritime sector.

A contingency plan has been activated for the Natovi–Taveuni route, with CLT Saint Mary, operated by Venu Shipping Ltd, now servicing the route from midnight yesterday.

Passengers, trucks and cargo travelling from Suva have been advised to reroute through Natovi to access the service.

Minister for Agriculture, Waterways and Sugar Industry Tomasi Tunabuna said transportation challenges in the maritime zone have been affecting agricultural communities that rely heavily on ferry services to sell produce and access essential supplies.

“Transportation is affected especially in the maritime,” he said. “It would be very sad if this would be prolonged, serving the maritime.”

He said Government’s priority is to ensure agricultural produce from maritime islands reaches main markets while also maintaining the supply of essential goods back to those communities.

“We would like to ensure that we get agricultural produce out from the maritime island to be sold on the main markets and at the same time also provide them with basic needs,” Mr Tunabuna said.

He said discussions are ongoing to restore and stabilise ferry and vessel services to protect livelihoods in maritime communities.

“I think the government is already working on that,” he said.

The disruption follows service suspensions or threatened suspensions by Goundar Shipping Limited, Interlink Shipping and Prestige Sealink Fiji, which have cited unresolved regulatory issues with the Maritime Safety Authority of Fiji.