Opposition MP Viam Pillay has accused government authorities of “ministerial impotence” after passengers were left stranded offshore when a private vessel occupied the Ellington Jetty in Rakiraki for more than 26 hours yesterday. Pillay said the episode exposed a failure by the Ministry of Transport and the Maritime Safety Authority of Fiji (MSAF) to enforce the law and protect public access to a state wharf.
Pillay told reporters a Goundar Shipping vessel was docked at Ellington and refused to move for over five hours at a critical time, preventing an Interlink ferry that had arrived from Nabouwalu from off‑loading its passengers. While the private vessel remained at the wharf for over a day, Pillay said people bound for shore were left waiting offshore and unable to disembark.
“This was a clinical study in ministerial impotence,” Pillay said, arguing the situation was more than a scheduling dispute and amounted to an “abdication of State power.” He pointed to the Maritime Transport Act 2013, under which the State has responsibility to ensure safe and efficient maritime operations, and to provisions in the Sea Ports Management Act that, he said, give authorities explicit powers to move vessels when public safety or access is at risk.
The Opposition MP criticised both the Ministry of Transport and the MSAF for what he described as a pattern of inaction. “While a private vessel hijacked a public wharf for 26 hours, passengers… were left stranded at sea because the Ministry and MSAF have effectively abandoned their legal mandate,” Pillay said. He added that Police and MSAF had been alerted during the incident but, in his account, failed to intervene.
Pillay framed the episode as symptomatic of recurring failures, saying the “repeated nature of these incidents proves this isn’t an oversight; it’s a choice.” He urged immediate accountability, calling for a transparent review into what happened at Ellington Jetty and for clear remedial steps to prevent similar disruptions to inter‑island travel and public safety.
The incident raises fresh questions about wharf management and the enforcement of port rules in Rakiraki, a coastal hub where timely ferry operations are crucial for passengers and freight moving between the northern and western islands. Pillay argued Fiji needs a maritime system “run with the firm authority of the State… not a system run by whoever happens to dock first.”
Pillay’s statements represent the latest escalation in scrutiny over how public port facilities are managed. He has demanded public answers and a probe that clarifies whether existing powers under maritime and port legislation were exercised, and if not, why enforcement did not take place when the public interest was directly affected.
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