The inter-island cargo ferry MV Niuvakai that became stuck on a reef off Tu’anuku, Vava’u, on Friday morning, July 31, managed to free itself last night and sailed into Neiafu this morning.

Neiafu police confirmed today 3 August that no casualties were reported when the cargo ship went aground, and the incident is being investigated.

MV Niuvakai was on a scheduled voyage from Tongatapu to Ha’apai and Vava’u carrying construction material and equipment for the Ministry of Infrastructure.

Mosese Fakatou of the Friendly Islands Shipping Agency (FISA), a public enterprise that owns the vessel said that the MV Niuvakai did not have any passengers on board. It was carrying about 15 to 20 tonnes of cargo when it became stuck on the reef early on Friday morning at low tide.

He said its propeller remained bouyant in the deeper water, so it was a matter of waiting for a high tide to free the ship from the reef.

Mosese said that no visible damage to the ship was reported by the crew who went onto the reef at low tide to see inspect the hull. However, a more thorough inspection will be carried out in Neiafu.

The MV Niuvakai had just returned to Tonga after it was dry-docked in Fiji in early July.

The vessel was bought by the FISA from the Pacific Royale Shipping Group Ltd for NZD$936,000 early last year.

The ship has a built-in chill freezer and cargo capacity of 660 cubic meters and 274.4 cubic meters with 274,440 litres for bulk cargo diesel fuel.

When the MV Niuvakai was launched on 14 March 2014 it was said that the government investment was to meet demand from the agricultural sector to transport bulk livestock cargo to Tonga’s outer islands and to provide an option for bulk cargo transportation to nearby Pacific Islands, including New Zealand.

Unfortunately, the MV Niuvakai has not offered any of these services and has not met the standards required to carry fuel to the outer islands.