A high-speed passenger vessel meant to serve Fiji’s remote maritime communities has run into trouble with the Maritime Safety Authority of Fiji (MSAF). MSAF has raised serious concerns about the ship’s seaworthiness, legal compliance, and whether the crew is fully prepared. The vessel’s future operations now hang in the balance as authorities look deeper into the issues. The vessel, Captain Inoke, a 27-year-old aluminum high-speed craft recently imported from South Korea under the Mongolian flag, is currently under scrutiny by the MSAF. According to MSAF chief executive officer Joweli Cawaki, inspectors found over 20 cracks in the hull—a structural red flag that could threaten the safety of up to 500 passengers and vehicles the vessel is meant to carry. “I’ve been told there were more than 20 cracks,” Mr Cawaki said. “We also found issues with the thickness of the hull. Its 27 years old. We have to be mindful of safety.” MV Captain Inoke arrived in Fiji with a Mongolian flag on January 3, and was expected to berth at the Suva Port at 1pm. Mr Cawaki said the vessel was still a foreign vessel at this stage. “At the moment the vessel is registered as a foreign vessel by the Board of control, and it hasn’t been registered by us yet,” Mr Cawaki said. Mr Cawaki said they have been in touch with the managing director of Goundar Shipping Limited, George Goundar, and that an application was expected from them by next week. The vessel was meant to arrive under a temporary Fijian flag but instead came in under a Mongolian “flag of convenience,” which has weak safety oversight. This surprised MSAF. “He went to Korea to see the boats, and we were supposed to come to Korea,” Mr Cawaki explained. “Before we came in, the boat left Korea… not with the Fiji flag, which is supposed to be the case.” The impasse is a lack of appropriate legislation governing high-speed craft in Fiji. The Captain Inoke, an aluminum vessel designed for rapid transport, falls outside traditional survey schedules. However, Mr Cawaki confirmed that Cabinet has approved a legal review to domesticate the International Code of Safety for High-Speed Craft (HSC Code), which would allow MSAF to enforce specialised safety standards for such vessels. “Once the code is domesticated, then we’ll have to train our people,” he said, noting the current shortage of local expertise for surveying high-speed craft. “Those are the areas he needs to see before buying a boat of this type,” Mr Cawaki said. “He needs to first train his people.” Mr Goundar has pushed back on the delays, warning of potential disruption to inter-island public service. But Mr Cawaki is standing firm. “To me, it’s not a threat,” he said. “We are the authority. We are the Government… You can bark very hard, but you don’t have the teeth we have the teeth.” Feedback: sosiveta.korobiau@fijisun.com.fj