A cargo ship has had to halt its journey to the capital due to reports of congestion at the port. The local shipping agent for the Capitaine Tasman confirmed that the vessel would not be able to dock in Suva because of insufficient berthing space. The Ports Authority later announced that the ship arrived a day late.
According to Shone Pereira, the Operations Manager at Fiji Ports Terminal, “There was no berth available on September 21 since the vessel arrived late, and other vessels were already occupying the North and South berths.”
For export operators like Performance Flotation Development, this delay, which is not the first in recent months, has been frustrating. The Nabua-based textile manufacturer stated that all inbound goods would now be offloaded at Lautoka port and transferred to another ship, Capitaine Magellan, to reach Suva.
Mike Towler, Managing Director of Performance Flotation Development, expressed his dissatisfaction with the situation at the wharf, stating, “This is the sort of issues we must endure with Fiji Ports. It’s a joke.”
Performance Flotation Development is the largest life jacket manufacturer in the Southern Hemisphere. The local agent, Shipping Services Fiji Limited, indicated that the Capitaine Tasman skipped Suva on this voyage due to a lack of available berthing, yard congestion, and slow vessel operations. All inbound cargo will be unloaded in Lautoka and then transferred to Capitaine Magellan for delivery to Suva.