THE Maritime Safety Authority of Fiji (MSAF) has engaged a private consultant to determine the number of sunken and semi-submerged vessels in Suva Harbour and the cost of removing them.
Authority CEO Joeli Cawaki says donors are willing to provide funds to remove the derelict vessels.
He said UNESCAP would provide the funds to hire a consultant to conduct a study to determine the cost of the removal exercise.
“We have gone to some of the bigger donors, World Bank, ADB, UNDP,” Mr Cawaki said.
“They’ve asked us how much it costs, so, currently, we don’t have an answer to that question because we don’t have any data.
“We can give them the number of wrecks, but they need the dollar value, how much it will cost.”
Mr Cawaki said at a meeting with UNESCAP in Nadi last year the authority had sought assistance in terms of providing a consultant who could conduct the study and determine the level of work that needs to be done, and the cost.
“This study will be just on semi-submerged and sunken vessels. So, this week, UNESCAP has come back to us and said that they could assist us in funding the consultant.”
Mr Cawaki said five expressions of interest were shown, out of which one has been selected.
“At our meeting on Wednesday (26/02), we went through the vetting process. One applicant has provided everything, so we are going to work with that consultant.
“The consultant will do the study and prepare a report.”
