Troubling questions continue to surround the disappearance of the “Nanuku Nine” as grieving boat owner, Merewalesi Seruvatu, struggles to come to terms with the loss of the men, whose fishing trips once provided a livelihood for many families.
A fortnight after the nine men vanished at sea, she spoke publicly for the first time.
The 46-year-old businesswoman said the fiberglass boat and outboard motor she purchased last year became the foundation of a growing fishing business shared with the late Osea Vakaruru and his team of divers, all members of his household.
“The boat was our livelihood,” she told this newspaper.
“It helped my business thrive, and also helped them with their family’s wellbeing.”
But amid the grief, Ms Seruvatu says one detail continues to haunt her – the men had always travelled in groups of six, yet nine boarded the vessel on its final journey.
“That day was the only day I did not see them off.
“Later I learned there were nine of them. That was new. They always go in sixes. One skipper and five divers”
Questions have also emerged over reported damage to the boat’s stop-cork and why the engine was tilted upward when it was found, suggesting it was stationary.
A boat captain who found the submerged boat with engine intact, in waters off Vunaniu, Serua, reported that a men’s underwear was stuffed into the gap where a stop cork was supposed to be.
Ms Seruvatu said another team of divers had damaged the original stop cork and it was replaced.
She will be with the family of the fishermen at this morning’s memorial service at the St Pius X Parish in Raiwaqa, Suva.
The Nanuku Nine includes Osea Vakaruru, 56, his three sons – Sitiveni Takivakatini, 27, Mateo Tikoitoga, 24, and Esekaia Boladuadua, 20, Savenaca Sokini, Lemeki Tikoitoga, 35, Pita, 35, Maciu Niubalavu, 29, and Julian Tavola, 23.
