Those who commute daily between Vanua Levu and Viti Levu have called on the Maritime Safety Authority to improve the safety auditing of vessels servicing the route.
Within a week, a vessel belonging to a local shipping company experienced two breakdowns, the second being on Sunday, November 26.
Passengers claimed that on that Sunday, they were heading to Nabouwalu from Natovi when the engines stopped and that the vessel had to be towed the rest of the trip to Nabouwalu.
They confirmed that on the same day, 30 minutes after leaving Nabouwalu jetty, the vessel had to be towed back to Bua.
“We left at about 10am and sailed out to sea, but 30 minutes later we had to turn back to Nabouwalu jetty,” passenger Kitty Tui said.
“Then we left Nabouwalu again at about 12pm. This is just not fair because we paid a fare for safety and good service.
“We felt sorry for the passengers on the other boat, but I hope MSAF looks into this.”
On Monday, November 20, passengers who left Natovi at about 10pm reached Nabouwalu at about 7am on Tuesday.
TimA passenger said the engine stopped, causing a blackout on board and forcing the vessel to drift for about two hours.
“We could see PAFCO lights from where we were because it was getting closer, but the sad part is that the crew offered neither an explanation nor an apology for what happened.”
Questions sent to MSAF and the shipping company last month remain unanswered.
