The tragic drowning of three family members and a missing 12-year-old girl in Lau waters has raised concerns about the safety of passengers when travelling in boats.
The group was travelling in a fibreglass boat last Friday from Tuvuca Island for a picnic to Tavunuku Island, when the boat capsized because of rough waters.
Speaking to this newspaper yesterday from their family home in Tamavua, Tomasi Vakatalai said he was still coming to terms with the deaths of his younger sister, sister-in-law, granddaughter, and niece.
Mr Vakatalai said on Friday morning his heart dropped when he received a call from the village relaying the message of the incident.
Overloading claim
He claimed the boat was overloaded with passengers as they headed out to Tavanuku Island, a popular picnic spot.
“The boat is only supposed to carry six passengers and the boat operator, but on Friday there was 16 people including the operator,” the 59-year-old said.
“They boarded in an area closer to the reef and if a boat capsizes out in that area, there is no possibility that the passengers will make it back to land.
“There were also no life jackets on board, this should also be a concern to boat operators, to make sure they are complying with safety regulations.”
Burial plans
He said the body of his granddaughter, 11-year-old Lagilagi Maukakala, was flown to Suva on Sunday with a team of medical officers and was currently at the Suva mortuary.
“The bodies of my sister and sister-in-law are still in the mortuary at the Lakeba Hospital.
“The two bodies will be taken back to Tuvuca Village and will be buried today (yesterday).
“A boat will be coming tomorrow (today) from Lau carrying all their family members and people from the village including the liuliu ni yavusa and village headman. Lagilagi will be buried towards the end of this week.”
Niece still missing
He said the boat which had carried his family members was eventually found at Nayau Island and he pleaded with the people of Nayau to help search for the body of his niece. “We are still grieving and coming to terms with what has happened over the past few days.
“Since Friday, our family hasn’t been eating or sleeping properly, we never thought something like this would happen to our family.
Following the incident, police have issued a warning calling on all boat operators to comply with the Maritime Safety Authority of Fiji (MSAF) safety standards.
Disregard for rules
Fiji Police Force Assistant Commissioner of Police operations (ACP) Livai Driu said the very simple regulations that boat operators needed to follow, were not being complied with.
This was evident in the recent three boating incidents in Baulevu, Yasawa and Lau Waters where the boat had capsized, and passengers died.
“Lives are being lost because simple safety procedures were not in place, ” ACP Driu said.
He says the regulation states that a commercial boating operator shall provide every passenger on board a commercial boat with a personal flotation device.
“This is something that is missing from small boat operators.
“We will start conducting inspections with MSAF officials and we will deal with boat operators who don’t comply with these regulations.”
Mr Driu said with such incidents, boat operators should take safety precautionary measures to ensure the safety of all their passengers.
Stakeholders concerned
Transport Minister Ro Filipe Tuisawau said the loss of life could have been prevented as some of these boats were noncompliant in terms of registration and not carrying mandated safety equipment such as life jackets.
“This is a poor attitude prevalent nation wide which must change, and the onus is on boat operators while MSAF needs to come down hard on compliance,” Ro Filipe said.
He said MSAF was working on its resources and with the police, Fiji Navy and Ministry of iTaukei Affairs on this issue.
“In addition, we have had mechanical issues with at least three passenger boats which could have resulted in serious safety issues for the passengers.
“These boats have been passed for operations, but boat operators must ensure ongoing checks and maintenance.
“The recent one involved a boat hitting a reef, these incidents are unacceptable, and I have warned MSAF and also boat operators to do what they need to do in terms of checks and preventative measures, or we take the last resort and cancel licences for the reason of public safety.
“It is very concerning the amount of maritime and water safety issues.”
