MV ‘Otuanga’ofa ferry in Fiji for repairs [1]
Thursday, July 17, 2014 - 17:54. Updated on Thursday, July 17, 2014 - 17:59.
Tonga’s inter-island ferry MV ‘Otuanga’ofa has gone to Lautoka in Fiji for dry dock maintenance after some cracks were found inside a ballast tank.
Vaka’utapola Vi, the CEO of the Friendly Islands Shipping Agency Ltd (FISA) reported to his board that while the ferry was in Nuku’alofa on Tuesday, 8 July they found some cracks inside ballast tank no.3 Port side, due to localised stress.
He said the bow and the stern are the most highly stressed areas of the vessel, with the bow stresses due to the ramming, pounding and racking, while the stresses on the stern due to the pounding, propeller pressure and vibrations.
On July 10 he reported that a temporary repair was made and the vessel needed to go to Fiji to be fixed. “We welded the cracks and put in stress reliefs and have informed the NKK surveyor who was happy with the repair done, but it was only a temporary repair. To fix this we have to go on dry docking in Fiji,” he said.
The dry docking orginally planned for September was brought forward after the cracks were found. The inter-island ferry departed on Monday, 14 July for Fiji and is expected to return to Tonga within two weeks.
Meanwhile, FISA’s second ship the MV Niuvakai is providing the inter island services for the time being.
Japan
The MV 'Otuanga'ofa, which can carry up to 400 passengers was gifted to Tonga by the Government of Japan financed under a Grant Aid, worth over TOP$30 million.
It was commissioned in Nuku’alofa on October 28, 2010.