MSAF to carry out full investigation on the sinking of the MV Suilven

A full investigation will now be carried out by the Maritime Safety Authority of Fiji after the sinking of the MV Suilven at the Suva Harbour yesterday afternoon.

MSAF will find out exact details on when the Suilven started encountering problems, whether distress calls were made from the vessel, when the calls were made, the ship’s cargo load, the reaction time and the monitoring of vessels going in and out of the crucial Suva Harbour passage.

Fijivillage has received confirmation that details will be revealed after the investigation.

Meanwhile Permanent Secretary for Infrastructure and Transport Commander Francis Kean says they will now await the MSAF report.

Commander Kean says the cargo load and other details will definitely be assessed.

He says the entrance to Suva Harbour is safe and clear for transiting ships and further assessments will be made on the sunken vessel soon.

The MSAF oil spill equipment is on standby at Government Shipping Services ready for deployment.

The government vessel, Rogovoka is on standby to deploy to assist in the removal of any floating cargo from the sunken ship.

When asked on the monitoring of vessels coming in and going out of the passage, Commander Kean says there are clear procedures that should be followed. He also says we always need to ensure that the passage is not blocked.

The 31 crew members on board were rescued from the sinking vessel yesterday.

According to eyewitnesses the vessel started listing as it was coming into Suva.

It was there for some time and tried going out again.

We contacted Fiji Ports Corporation Limited as it was happening and witnessed a tug boat going out to the vessel.

Fijivillage is getting reports that the MV Suilven started experiencing problems after it encountered strong winds near Naselai.

It is understood the cargo shifted to one side of the vessel which caused problems for the vessel from that stage as it headed towards Suva.

It is not known at this stage on whether any distress call was made by the crew at the time.

The owner of the vessel, Venu Shipping does not want to say anything.

Questions have been raised on the reaction time as the vessel was in distress for some time but there was no immediate reaction.

We are still trying to check the shipping company on whether any distress call was sent out by the vessel.

It would have been a major disaster if the vessel would have blocked the passage as it would have affected the entry of cargo and cruise vessels.