Shipping companies need better passenger management because the passenger's safety is paramount and boats must not be allowed to travel if it is overloaded or facing technical issues.
Minister for Transport Ro Filipe Tuisawau highlighted this after several passengers raised concerns with fijivillage News about instances where vessels were overloaded; yet no immediate action was taken to rectify the situation.
Ro Filipe says these are unacceptable situations and has stressed this to the Maritime Safety Authority of Fiji after Fijians living in the maritime islands have voiced serious concerns about MSAF's failure to enforce crucial safety regulations for passenger vessels departing Suva this week.
Travellers feel that MSAF has not lived up to its responsibility of ensuring that all maritime operators prioritise passenger safety.
They say despite clear regulations, shipping companies continue to load an excessive number of passengers and have placed lives at risk.
Many Fijians on the islands rely on these vessels as their mode of transportation and are urging MSAF to step up and hold vessel owners accountable.
They believe that stricter enforcement of the number of passengers permitted on board, as well as regular inspections are critical in preventing potential tragedies.
While responding to the concerns raised, Ro Filipe says a full review of the maritime sector will be done soon.
Meanwhile, MSAF CEO Joeli Cawaki says the last-minute paying of boat fares at the wharf by members of the public travelling from one place to the other was the cause of vessels being overloaded on Sunday night.
He says MSAF prioritises the safety of the people and that is why they had one of their officers at the wharf who monitored the number of passengers on board and had to stop the vessel from leaving the wharf because of the overload.
He further says there were a total of 1,090 people that were on board with 774 passengers travelling to Savusavu and Taveuni and 316 passengers travelling to Gau and Koro.
Cawaki says the vessel had only 500 passengers registered who paid their tickets at the booths but a lot of the passengers paid their fares last minute at the wharf which caused the overload.
He says the owner of the shipping company had to provide another vessel for the passengers travelling to Gau and Koro.
He adds people should understand that these vessel companies are trying their best to provide the services that people need even though there are delays.
Cawaki further says MSAF is also reviewing its laws to try to capture the Maritime Travellers’ Rights.
He says this is something they have been discussing over the years but nothing concrete has been done for them to enforce this law.
He adds this law includes vessel companies providing the passengers with meals and also accommodation for those travelling from afar if there has been a change in schedules or delay in the departure times.
Cawaki is urging all passengers to avoid last-minute payment of boat fares and pay in advance at the ticket booths to avoid these issues from happening.
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