AT the start of the summer holiday season Tonga's new TOP$30 million ferry MV 'Otuanga'ofa, which arrived in Nuku'alofa on October 15, remains tied-up at the Queen Salote Wharf, because it has no crew and the passenger ferry berths at Pangai, Ha'apai and Neiafu, Vava'u are not yet ready.

The Minister for Revenue Collection, the Hon. Teisna Fuko, in a program of Candidates Meeting the Press, this week said that there was a need to recruit trained crew. It had been suggested that sailors from the Tongan Navy would operate the vessel, but this was not acceptable to the Japanese government, therefore they were still in the process of recruiting trained crew.

Seventeen Toumo'ua, a Director of the Pacific Engineering Consultant Group, which has been contracted by the Ministry of Transport to upgrade the berths for the ferry, said that the vessel was too big and major upgrade work was needed to enable the ferry to berth, load and unload.

He said that work on the Queen Salote berth had been completed. The construction work at the Port of Refuge, Vava'u was still on going, and the harbour needed to be dredged. The work on wharf at Pangai, Ha'apai should be completed by next week. Seventeen is a candidate for Tongatapu 9 in the November 25 election.

Vaka'uta Pola Vi the CEO of the new Friendly Island Shipping Agency FISA told Matangi Tonga on November 8 that there was still a lot of work to be done before the new ferry begins operation and he could not give a specific time when the service would start.

He said that they urgently needed a trained crew, and he was still waiting on the regulator the Ministry of Transport on that.

"Management and infrastructure systems also need to be put in place for the ferry", he said, adding that the major hold-up was that the construction of the wharfs at Vava'u and Ha'apai had not been completed.

Contract

In September Matangi Tonga Online reported that the contract for the redevelopment work at the wharfs at Vava'u and Ha'apai costing over $300,000 pa'anga was awarded by the Ministry of Transport to two local companies.

The $157,000 contract for the upgrade at Vava'u was awarded to Civil Works Construction owned by 'Etuate Lavulavu. While Tafolo Construction was awarded the upgrade work at Ha'apai at a cost of around $150,000.

Vaka'uta said he would fly to both the outer islands next week to personally inspect the upgrading work on the wharfs to ensure that it could accommodate the berthing of the ferry.

He noted that he has received many inquiries from the public as to when the ferry would start operating to the outer islands as the peak holiday season is starting, and people want to travel.

Vaka'uta said the upgrade work at the inter island ferry pier at the Queen Salote wharf had been completed, but the ferry remained berthed at the main pier because it had not started commercial operations.