THREE ships belonging to Venu Shipping Ltd remain either sunken or stranded and there is still no indication from the company if they will remove it.
Sinu-i-Wasa I which sank in the Levuka Harbour during Severe Tropical Cyclone Winston remains in the harbour while Sinu-i-Wasa Tolu is stranded on a beach on Ovalau. Levuka resident Jale Donu confirmed that the Sinu-i-Wasa I was still in the harbour.
“The ship is still there. We can see it during low tide. It went down during Winston and remains here. The other boat is grounded at Toki Village,” he said.
Venu Shipping director Ben Naidu is said to be sick and has been away from work from last week and no other company official can comment on the matter.
Of concern is MV Suilven which sank in the Suva Harbour in November last year. The sunken vessel becomes an obstacle for bigger ships to enter the harbour during low tide.
Fiji Ports Corporation Limited chief executive Vajira Piyasena said they were looking at legal action against the company.
A suggestion that the sunken ship be towed towards the reef instead of bringing it into the harbour has been mooted by Fiji Fish boss Grahame Southwick.
Derelict and sunken ships are being slowly towed away by FPCL but it is a costly affair because it remained a non-commercial activity.
If the company’s focus was turned towards non-commercial activities then the dividends to the shareholders would be affected.
While, FPCL considers their next action, the derelict and sunken vessels not only become a hazard to the other vessels in the harbour but are also affecting the environment and the marine life.
