Tongan inter-island ferry hits reef [1]
Wednesday, May 26, 2004 - 15:02. Updated on Thursday, May 1, 2014 - 19:57.
About 450 people were rescued in small boats, after Tonga's inter-island ferry ran aground on the Hakauloa reef in the early hours of Wednesday morning, about a mile outside the Pangai Harbour in the Ha'apai group.
The MV Pulupaki, a 440 tonnes small ferry was carrying a full load of passengers to Ha'apai and Vava'u after Tonga lost its domestic air service last week. Many of the passengers who had been stranded on Tongatapu, Tonga's main island, after the sudden closure of Royal Tongan Airlines, found themselves stranded once again but this time in the dark on a reef.
The ferry hit the reef at about 12.30 a.m. and early reports claimed that the light on the reef was not working. However, a spokesperson for the Tongan Ministry of Marine and Ports said today that the reef's steel pile light had been working, but the MV Pulupaki had rammed the light and pushed it under the water. He said the light was well-maintained because it was the most important light in the group - marking the difficult narrow channel at the southern entrance to the Pangai Harbour. "Just one wrong move or a bit of wind there is enough to put a vessel on the reef," he said.
Rescued passengers were put on another ferry, the 'Olovaha, this morning without their baggage, and were expected to reach Vava'u tonight. They include many Tongans from New Zealand and Australia who were travelling to Vava'u to prepare for the Free Wesleyan Church conference there in June.
Another vessel was trying to save the cargo and the passenger baggage, which was left on the MV Pulupaki.
The MV Pulupaki is owned by Uliti Uata Shipping of Tonga.