WHILE villagers on Koro Island are happy that boat services are available on a weekly basis, Goundar Shipping Ltd Director General George Goundar is not happy with how some people are damaging items and facilities on his vessels.
Part of the services provided to the people of Koro by the Goundar Shipping Ltd company is trucking services where villagers from Kade, Navaga, Nabasovi, Tavua, Vatulele, Nabuna, Naisogoloa, Tuatua, Nasau, Nacamaki, Namacu, Mudu, Nakodu, Sinuvaca and Naqaidamu wait at their villages with their cargo and the trucks pick them up from their doorsteps and load them onto the boat.
“I am trying so hard to provide a cost-effective shipping program for the people of Koro but they just seem to frustrate me all the time,” Mr Goundar said.
“They damage the stuff on board the boat and steal other passengers’ belongings, they just have to learn to respect other people as well as try not to damage the seats on the boats.”
The people of Koro have two options to choose from when planning to leave Koro for Suva.
One is with the Lomaiviti Princess 1, which transports passengers to Koro, Savusavu and Taveuni every Monday and returns to Suva on Wednesdays and the other with Patterson Shipping Company, which visits Koro on a weekly basis.
Most villagers prefer to travel on the boats belonging to Patterson Shipping saying it is much convenient for them even if it means getting off at the Natovi Jetty.
For Naqaidamu villager Luke Goneyali, who is also a frequent traveller from Koro to Suva, travelling on the boats belonging to Patterson Shipping means having breakfast again in Suva.
“From Koro to Natovi is only four to five hours, and it is very convenient because when we reach Natovi, there is the bus to take us from the jetty to Suva,” Mr Goneyali said.
Sinuvaca villager and yaqona farmer Sunia Koroi says he prefers travelling by Goundar Shipping Ltd because it is convenient for him in terms of transporting his produce to Suva for the Suva Market.
“I still prefer travelling to Suva on the Lomaiviti Princess because I don’t have to pay much for cargo and I trust the crew working on that boat,” Mr Koroi said.
