Government is strengthening its maritime emergency response framework, with Minister for Immigration Viliame Naupoto warning of the risks posed by a large-scale disaster at sea.
Speaking in Parliament on Tuesday, Mr Naupoto said authorities had conducted a “war game” exercise to assess Fiji’s preparedness for a worst-case maritime incident involving a cruise liner.
“I had a certain war game… what could be the worst maritime disaster we have in Fiji. We war gamed around a cruise line. You are talking about 2,000 passengers, 1,000 crew and if one of those cruise liners is in distress at sea, how do we respond?” he said.
He raised concerns about current evacuation capacity, noting limitations in existing vessels.
“The capacity of our roll-on, roll-off vessels, I am not too sure whether it will reach 3,000… if we want to extract those people, the need to get helicopters to pick people out of the water because there will be too many.”
Mr Naupoto said joining international frameworks would significantly improve Fiji’s response capability.
“When we sign up to this Convention, we connect with an international network of search and rescue… we can tap into them… and we save lives in the end. It is not merely a humanitarian obligation.”
He stressed that maritime safety is also critical to the economy, particularly tourism and shipping.
“Having a good search and rescue mechanism is an economic imperative. Safe and reliable maritime systems underpin confidence in our shipping and tourism sectors.”
He added that visiting vessels must have confidence in Fiji’s ability to respond to emergencies.
“When they know that if they get into trouble, there will be good reaction, timely… they have confidence to come.”
Mr Naupoto said accession to the Search and Rescue Convention would also enhance Fiji’s national capacity.
“It will bring opportunities for training, technical support, and institutional development. It certainly will enhance our maritime awareness and complement our broader responsibilities in border management and emergency response.”
The move is expected to strengthen Fiji’s preparedness for large-scale maritime incidents while boosting confidence in its maritime and tourism sectors.
