THE MV Suilven was a good passenger boat and catered for 300 passengers at a time when it was first brought to Fiji by former owners Bligh Water Shipping.
Originally built in 1974 in Norway, the MV Suilven was a vehicle ferry, operating for 21 years in Scotland before it operated in New Zealand for nine years. In 2004, Bligh Water Shipping brought the vessel to Fiji where it operated as a passenger boat for more than five years.
“Its first trip was on April 24, 2004,” Bligh Water Shipping CEO Mohammed Sareem said. “It was known as ‘the boat with wings’ because of its stabilisers, which acted as wings attached to the hull of the ship for stability in rough seas.
“It was a very good passenger boat and when it was with Bligh Water, we used to have 300 passengers per trip and it was travelling at 12 knots.”
The MV Suilven was second of twins and named after the mountain peak Suilven in Sutherland, Scotland.
“It was one of the best passenger ships to ever be brought to Fiji,” Mr Sareem said.
In 2012, Bligh Water Shipping sold the vessel to Venu Shipping where it would take on a new function to ferry cargo.
“The ship was a Lloyd certified ship and it was an ice class vessel, which meant that its steel at the hull was thick enough to allow the ship to go through icebergs.”
After some modifications which were passed by the Maritime Safety Authority, the MV Suilven again set sail.
“Ben Naidu (owner Venu Shipping) saw that there was more money in cargo ferrying and decided to change from being a passenger carrier to that of cargo.”
Last month, the MV Suilven sank at the entrance of Suva Harbour. It went down with 25 reefer containers and a few trucks.
On board were 30 crew members and four passengers who were truck drivers.
